Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
by aforceofnature
Summary: What if the Academy was a real place, a place that trains extraordinary people to do extraordinary things. Only these people... are something more than mere mortals. Abandoned by her father, Sang finds herself thrust into a world of gods, heroes and legends long forgotten. But an ancient evil is rising, and the only one who can stop it is gone for ever... or so the legends say!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

"I don't understand, Dad." I watched my father hurry around the small room like a whirlwind, picking up everything I had ever owned and tossing it all into an ancient-looking wooden chest. The heavy box looked like it had survived a few dozen wars, the lid and sides grooved and scored as if someone had taken an axe to the gold inlay, but the inside looked sturdy and solid. The large chest was now less than half full – I didn't have many earthly possessions after all – but that didn't explain why my stuff was being piled so unceremoniously inside by my father.

"It was your mother's," he told me, voice cracking over the words and as though that would explain everything. As if the mere mention of my biological mother, a woman I had never met and whom my father rarely spoke of, was enough of an explanation to negate the entire, bizarre scenario.

"But why?" I tried to raise my voice to catch my father's attention properly, in order to get a full ten words out of him in between the heart-breaking thunks that my precious book collection made as they were dumped into the chest one by one. My chest heaved and the dull sting in my throat made me wince, so instead the words came out as a soft whimper.

The latest punishment inflicted on me by my step-mother, vindictive woman that she was, had left me unable to speak above a whisper for nearly a week and, even now, it pained me to try to raise my voice. I was broken, silenced, just like the rest of my family wanted me to be. Not seen or heard, that had been the family motto for months now. Ever since that night!

"What?" My father had finally come to a stop, looking around for anything else he might have missed. Not that there was anything. He'd been thorough and the room was nothing more than that – an empty room – now. A bed frame, stripped free of sheets and bedding, a cleaned-out book shelf and a wardrobe with a few empty clothes hangers left swinging in the absence of their usual clothing. It had taken only a half hour, but it now looked like no-one had ever lived here.

Maybe that was the point?

"Why are you doing this?" I asked softly, and the distracted man locked eyes with mine for the first time since he'd burst through the door at three in the morning.

"Because I have to." I blinked and stared at him, confused and bewildered. My father had done some strange things before – leaving me alone to the whims of my step-mother and half-sister, Marie, for weeks on end, for a start – but this was erratic even for him. "I'm leaving, Sang," he told me plainly. There was little sign of emotion in this man's eyes; none of the man I knew. "I've found someone else, a wonderful woman with a family..."

He paused, a faint smile flitting across his face for a moment before it was gone again. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him smile. Before my step-mother had gotten ill, I was certain.

"I can't take you with me and she said you couldn't stay here, so I'm taking you to _them_." I didn't need to ask who ' _she'_ was – the bitterness in my father's voice was testimony enough – but I didn't know what he meant by ' _them'_.

"To who?" I asked, but he just shook his head quickly and pulled the heavy lid of the chest closed. It crashed down with a loud creak of wood and bounced once before enveloping my entire life. Everything I knew, loved and believed in was in this room, and I had the dull, sinking feeling that I was about to lose the last thing left outside the chest, the only person I had ever had to depend on, for ever.

He didn't answer my question, even after I waited in silence for several long moments. He simply watched my face, the cool, detached mask of disinterest slipping over his features and removing the last trace of familial affection between us. He was no more than a stranger now. I felt the faintest trace of tears begin to prick at the corners of my eyes, but blinked them away with a ferocity that surprised me. This man hadn't been a father to me for years, not really, and I didn't need him. I had survived as the odd one out in this family for a long time, the unwanted child my father regretted having, and I didn't deserve any better. I was pathetic, useless, and alone. Just like I ought to be. Nobody wanted to get close to someone so broken and weak.

The car screeched to a stop in the middle of nowhere, or that was my best guess. The morning sun was just starting to rise beyond the horizon, bringing the shadows of a tangle of branches and trees into silhouette against the fading moonlight. The journey had taken a little over three hours, and it was still winter time, so our arrival – wherever here was – had coincided with that strange transitional time between morning and night, where the sun is just rising but the moon still hangs high in the sky. It was a bit creepy.

I shivered violently as my father pushed open the driver's side door and disappeared into the semi-darkness. The door swung shut seconds later, but the freezing wind whistling through the trees had already swirled into the car, chilling the interior temperature enough that it was uncomfortable to stay where I was.

"Dad?" I asked hesitantly as I gently pushed open my door and swung my bare legs out into the storm. The shorts and t-shirt I wore hadn't been my idea. He'd thrown them my way as he packed, insisting I dressed quickly and without waking the rest of the family. I'd done so, out of shock more than anything, and I regretted that decision now. I wished that I'd thought to snag a jacket or coat or something before they'd been piled into the chest, but three in the morning wasn't my favourite time of day and it had altogether slipped my mind.

"Sang!" I jumped as my father's voice echoed out of the fading darkness, then the man materialised in front of me. He was closer than I'd expected and I flinched back instinctively. Too many times, I'd been caught by surprise by my step-mother and been punished for it. The reaction was instantaneous. I leapt up out of the passenger seat and to my feet, holding my shivering frame as still and straight as I could. The woman would punish me if I moved, so I didn't. I'd learnt that lesson before I turned six.

"Don't!" my father sighed and frowned as he took in the rigid pose I'd taken, one he'd seen so many times but never done anything about, then pushed a pile of fabric towards me. I took it and shook it out, seeing that it was one of his old, well-worn fleece jackets. He kept it in the trunk of the car in case of breakdowns and emergencies and as a result it was a little damp and smelled of gasoline, but I appreciated the gesture. I shrugged it on and hugged it to myself as he stumbled back round towards the back of the car and started to try to heave the wooden chest out of the car.

I didn't make any effort to help, knowing that my tiny frame was as useful as a gust of wind in this situation, and instead wandered around the vehicle until I could watch the man at work. His movements were jerky and hurried, seeming to wish the job done as soon as possible. So he could leave for his new life, leave me behind, alone, I assumed. It was weird to think about, now that I'd allowed myself to spend the entire car journey coming to terms with the idea. I was pretty sure that my father wasn't about to leave me to die in the woods in a storm, or stab me to death or something, so I assumed that the mysterious ' _they_ ' were somewhere nearby. I didn't hope for much in that regard but I didn't think it could be much worse than where I'd come from. At least, I hoped that would be true.

With a last huff, my father finally heaved the chest to the ground and stood up, breathing heavily as he pushed the trunk closed and brushed his hands on his jeans. He ignored me as he pulled open the passenger door once more, rummaging through the glove compartment until he found his ancient Nokia cell phone. He stabbed it a few times to switch it on, dialled a number and waited, the phone clutched tightly to his ear.

"Hello?" He sounded uncertain for a second, glancing back at me for a moment before steeling himself to continue, as if somehow I had given him the courage to speak. He must be desperate to see me gone, I thought wryly. I hoped, in spite of everything, that his new family might make him happy.

"Yes, that's me... I have... On the road to the East... Yes... Thank you... I will." The one sided conversation didn't make a stitch of sense to me, but I could tell, as he hung up, that some kind of agreement had been reached. "I'll leave you here then," he told me perfunctorily.

"But," I gasped, glancing around at the mass of trees surrounding us on all sides. They were growing clearer with each passing moment as the sun rose higher in the sky, but I wasn't totally sure that I preferred that. Before, it had been dark, but now it was as if the bleak reality of loneliness was revealing itself with each new tree I could make out. I didn't want to be alone. I could fool myself into thinking I was okay by myself – that my father was no real dad to me – but that didn't make it easier. I wanted him to take me away with him.

"You'll be fine, Sang," he insisted, sliding behind the wheel and pulling the driver's door shut. I hadn't even seen him move. The passenger door was still open, and I reached out to touch it instinctively. If that door was still open, it wouldn't be final. He would still be here. He wouldn't have left me.

"Don't go," I whispered, and he fixed me with a stare so intense that I thought he might be staring into my soul. He held my gaze for a long time then looked away, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He spoke again without opening them, as if he couldn't bear to look up at me.

"They will look after you, Sang. This is where you belong. Never forget that, Sang. This is where you should be; where you deserve to be." He hit the ignition and leaned over, pulling the door shut. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"Dad," I whispered, but the wheels on the car spun in the muddy ground once and then he was gone.

I sat down on the lid of the wooden chest with a huff, curled my knees under my chin and started to sob.

"Shut up idiot!"

"You shut up."

"If you wake her..."

I woke to the gentle rocking sensation of being carried. Every few seconds, the world would pitch and turn a little, as if the ground that I was being carried over was rough and uneven, but I couldn't help but feel safe in the firm grip of my rescuer. At least, I hoped this man was taking me to my rescue and not to my doom. I flinched before I could stop my body reacting to my thoughts, and the arms pulled me closer to a warm chest.

I didn't dare open my eyes, in case I was in some kind of danger, but I made use of my other senses to try to determine what my situation was before I decided on a course of action. From the flat firm muscles I could feel against my arm and shoulder, where I rested against him, I concluded that I was being carried by a male; fairly young and strong – although I knew I weighed very little – and notably gentle.

He was making every effort to support my thighs and back using his forearms – a feat that I was sure couldn't have been comfortable for even the strongest of men – and his fists were balled loosely against the soft material of my borrowed jacket. He was trying not to touch me, I realised, although I wasn't sure why. The stories I'd heard from my step-mother had all emphasised how much men wanted to touch innocent little girls like me, especially if I wasn't able to fight back.

This man certainly wasn't doing that and for that I was grateful. I didn't know why he would be so careful to keep his distance, and a small part of me couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the disinterest, but that part was easily beaten out by the overwhelming sense of relief and reassurance his choice had given me.

"I think she's coming around," I heard a voice call from above me, as the man's chest vibrated softly. This voice belonged to my rescuer – I'd call him that until I had reason not to, or I discovered his name, I decided. His voice was masculine but not especially deep; kind, I thought, was the word for it. His voice fitted with the gentle image I had constructed for myself so far, and I decided that it was safe to open my eyes.

A pair of emerald green eyes, so clear I could have sworn that they were cut from crystal or precious stone, swam into focus and I blinked. They didn't disappear as I blinked so I allowed my eyes to drift to the rest of his face. There was nothing there. No face. Nothing but the eyes.

I tensed and prepared to panic as I searched for other features besides the eyes, and the gentle rocking motion stopped abruptly, as the man began to notice my panic. I lifted a hand to push against his chest, trying to escape from the faceless monstrosity that my unconscious mind had conjured up. I had to be dreaming; a nightmare, and I needed to wake up right now.

"It's okay," the voice came again, and I noticed that it sounded a little muffled. I started to breathe heavier and pushed against his chest again. I felt his hands release the fleece of my jacket and the muscles in his forearms and chest flex as I was lowered to the ground. I stumbled back in an effort to get away from this nightmare, but my back impacted another body and I froze. I was trapped. I was going to die in my dreams again.

"Leave me alone," I whispered, then my eyes widened in surprise as the man in front of me stepped back to give me space, arms stretching wide in the universally understood gesture for submission. The large hands and pale wrists disappeared into black woollen sleeves, which covered his whole body from head to foot. Now that I was facing him, I could make out a black balaclava-type mask covering what must have been his face, concealing everything but his eyes.

"I'm not going to..." The voice paused, and the man raised his hands and quickly pulled the mask up and off his face. It framed his face from where it still covered his ears and much of his forehead, but it revealed a slim, pale face with high cheekbones and a friendly smile to compliment his striking green eyes. "I won't hurt you."

I don't know exactly why I did what I did next but I knew instinctively that this man, with his deep, expressive gaze, was not going to hurt me. Glancing about, I spotted two other, equally masked men. I wasn't sure about them, but him I couldn't help but trust.

"Okay," I told him, and relaxed my shoulders.

"Okay," he agreed. He held out a hand to me, smiling almost shyly. "I'm Kota."

"Sang," I offered in return, but kept my hands down by my sides. I knew I trusted this man – this boy, I realised as I continued to examine the smooth skin and slim figure before me, since he couldn't be more than a year older than me – but I had never shaken hands before and had no idea how to approach the situation without making my inexperience and poor social skills transparent.

His smile dimmed just a little as he paused, arm outstretched, then it grew to full force again as he let his arm drop and shrugged jovially. I couldn't help but feel a pang of discomfort as his face fell, knowing it was my fault.

"Right, well," he mumbled, seeming a little less sure of himself all of a sudden. "It's..."

"Did you find her?" Another deeper voice interrupted whatever he had been about to say, and a fourth man came crashing through the undergrowth behind me. I spun around in time to see a huge guy in a leather jacket come smoothly to a stop next to us. His face, mercifully, wasn't covered, so I could see his surprise when he laid eyes on me. "Woah!"

"Hi Raven," Kota greeted him smoothly, and the two men exchanged a nod over my head. I peered up to see them engaging in some sort of silent exchange beside me and watched in fascination as the new, taller man grinned abruptly and nodded again.

"Got it," Raven said. "No competition here."

"Good," Kota replied, before he glanced back down at me. "Let's get inside."

Again, I had no idea what had just happened, but inside sounded great. The warmth of Kota's chest had started to seep out of me and I shivered again as the wind swirled around us, whipping my hair into a frenzy and biting into my exposed legs and face.

We had been walking in comfortable silence for less than ten minutes when the first buildings became visible over the crest of the shallow hill. Kota explained that I had been asleep when we had passed through the gates that surrounded the entire complex. When I had asked how big an area they surrounded, Raven had simply laughed.

"Big enough," had come the equally cryptic answer.

As we reached the peak of the hill, I gasped in shock at the sight that greeted me. The sun had risen enough for me to make out at least fifty low, sprawling buildings spiralling out from a vast central stone structure. It looked, if I wasn't mistaken, like a replica of the Parthenon – creamy-white, marble columns and ornate carvings and all. I thought I remembered it from one of the history textbooks my father had tossed into my mother's chest this morning. It looked like it ought to be out of place amongst the modern brick, wood and glass that surrounded it, but it didn't. It was perfectly at home here; an effortless juxtaposition of new and ancient, existing in harmony. It was beautiful.

"Cool, huh?" Raven nudged my shoulder with his elbow, and I fought the urge to flinch away. I took a small step toward Kota, without meaning to move, and Raven's cheek twitched. He almost looked sad for a moment, then the expression was gone. I nodded, flashing him a small smile as an apology for upsetting him somehow, and he swept an arm out in front of him, gesturing for me to take the lead as we would make our way down the path toward the buildings below. "Welcome to the Academy."

I glanced back at the other two men, still in their black masks, who waited behind us. They carried my mother's chest between them. Once I had checked that my life, packed away inside, was still behind me, I turned back to the steep path and took a deep breath. I had heard what Raven had said, despite having zero clue what he meant, but I had also caught the subtext behind them; the words he wasn't saying.

There was no turning back from this point. I had nothing to go back to, no-one to miss me on the outside of these gates. My old life was over. I didn't know where I was, why I was here or who I really was, but I knew I'd find out soon enough. I hoped it would be better. I hoped that, maybe, I'd be happy.

 _'Sang Sorenson, welcome to the rest of your life.'_


	2. Chapter 2: An Explanation Would Be Nice

I was delivered to one the low, flat-roofed brick buildings that directly overlooked the giant columned structure at the heart of the compound. The long wall I found myself deposited in front of was comprised almost solely of glass, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the blinding white marble pillars of the mock Parthenon reflected in it as I tried to avoid staring too intently at the buildings around me. Or at the surprising number of people who milled around in front of it, all of whom were suddenly far too interested in my arrival for the unearthly hour of the morning.

"Wait with Raven for just a second, okay?" Kota had said. I had nodded my agreement, staring up into his warm eyes and deciding for the fifth time in as many minutes to trust him. It took everything I had within me not to run, to find somewhere to hide away from all of the unwanted attention, but I forced myself to remain calm. Hence the staring at the ground, the wall or the shifting reflections in the mirrored glass. Anything to avoid catching anyone's eye directly.

"You good?" Raven nudged my shoulder again, squatting down to place his face squarely in my eye line. I pushed a finger nervously against my lower lip and nodded, trying to smile. It half worked, and I think I ended up giving him an odd, lopsided grimace. He grinned back at me and pulled himself upright in one smooth, graceful motion.

Too graceful, my instincts prompted. I shivered instinctually and looked away. This man seemed nice enough, but I hoped Kota would be back soon. Raven made me nervous for reasons I couldn't even articulate to myself.

A few minutes later, Kota emerged through a glass door, set into the wall of windows so seamlessly that, in the still dim light, I couldn't see the opening once it had closed again. He was followed closely by two women, each slender and almost indistinguishable from each other. They were clearly identical twins, and the atmosphere that their appearance created was palpable. The entire square behind me fell utterly silent in seconds under the claustrophobic aura of perfection that exuded from the pair like a fine perfume. It was that intimidating kind beauty that made mere mortal women like me – no matter how beautiful or plain you might be – conclude themselves unworthy to even breathe the same air.

"Sang, this is Celeste Murphy." Kota told me, gesturing toward the rightmost woman. She nodded almost imperceptibly, her icy-blue eyes fixed on the side of Kota's face. She made no move to look at me and for that I was glad. I could live an entire lifetime without that kind of scrutiny and humiliation. "And this Diana Murphy." He gestured at the other woman and she smiled affectionately at him.

"Hi," I said quietly. Neither of them took their eyes off Kota, seemingly waiting for him to say more. I did the same, watching him patiently. He seemed to command their respect, and that of the rest of our audience, so I figured he must be in charge in some way. He seemed a bit young to be in such a position but, as I reminded myself firmly, I didn't know the rules around here. For all I knew, he could be the headmaster of this school. If it was a school at all and not some kind of prison or centre for delinquents and outcasts.

After a few seconds of silence, I couldn't help but glance back over at the twins. Celeste was frowning, eyes still fixed on Kota's face, but his attention remained focused in my direction. I blushed as I noticed Diana was now watching me, confusion spreading across her flawless face. It wasn't a good look for her; her eyebrows pressed together above the bridge of her nose, introducing a single wrinkle to her smooth skin.

"Well this has been suitably awkward," Raven chuckled from behind my right shoulder. "If you don't mind Lee, I'll go and get some rest."

"Right!" Kota seemed to snap out of whatever thought had been distracting him and turned his attention on the leather-clad man at my back. "Dismissed." It seemed like my leader theory might be more accurate than I'd realised.

"Bye, Sang," Raven said, the smirk still detectable in his voice. I didn't hear him move but I knew when he was gone. I didn't even need to turn around. I could feel a change in the air, an absence of his aura – for want of a better description – and I somehow knew, without a doubt, that if I look back he'd be nowhere to be seen. It was beyond creepy!

"I'll leave you with Celeste and Diana, Sang," Kota said. I blanched and swallowed nervously.

 _Please don't leave me!_

He must have seen the unease in my eyes because he hurried on. "You'll be fine. They will explain everything and take you to your room. I have to go and check in with Black..." Abruptly he broke off whatever he'd been about to say. It seemed like he had said more than he should have and now he looked pained. I didn't like the sadness that flashed across his face and I wished I could help him, but I was the outsider here. I didn't know what was going on with me, let alone him, and it wasn't my place.

"I'll see you later, Sang," he said. He made a circular, swirling motion in the air with his finger, then pointed back in the direction we'd just come from. I turned to see the other two men in our group, the ones still in their masks, carrying my chest forward. I wondered if they'd been holding it airborne the whole time I'd been waiting, then felt bad that I hadn't thought to check. I'd been a bit distracted.

They deposited the chest at my feet and then joined Kota, who was power walking back up the path towards the edge of the compound like his life depended on his reaching it as soon as possible, yet looking like he was restraining himself from breaking into a run. He was shaking his head back and forth, muttering to himself. I hoped that I hadn't gotten him into trouble or upset him. He was desperate to get away from either me or the twins and, since he seemed to know them well, I figured it must be my fault. I wouldn't hold my breath to see him again, despite what he'd said. I knew better than most what rejection looked like, and Kota had at least been polite about it. I could take a hint.

"Come." One of the twins motioned me forward. I didn't know which one, since they had moved while my back was turned. "Bring the Legacy."

"What?"

"The trunk, stupid girl. Bring the box," the other twin snapped, already walking away. I figured that this one must be Celeste. Diana had seemed aloof before, but I got the feeling that Celeste Murphy had inherited all the anger management issues in their family.

"I can't!" I called out. They were already a good distance away, leaving me standing pathetically next to my "Legacy" – whatever that was supposed to mean.

"I don't follow," Diana said. She stopped moving but Celeste didn't stop to wait for her. She continued to put distance between herself and me and I didn't think that was an accident. I'd been inside the wall of the mysterious Academy for all of a half hour and already somebody hated me. Maybe three people, if you counted Kota and Diana.

"I can't lift the trunk," I told her plainly. My mind whirled as I tried to figure out a way to drag the trunk across the ground to whatever we were heading. I started to figure out how far I thought I could make it, but a quick perusal of the large, uneven flagstones told me that it would be a bad idea. I wouldn't make it the length of one building.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why can't you lift it?" Diana asked. It was a rude question on its face, but she sounded genuinely confused by my failure. Celeste was already out of sight, so I figured I couldn't do any more harm by telling the truth.

"I'm not strong enough." I raised my arms out to the sides, as if to demonstrate my distinct lack of muscle definition. "I physically can't lift it off the ground. It took two of them to carry it before." I poked my thumb over my shoulder in the direction that Kota and the other men had gone.

"Definitely not Valkyrie then," Diana mumbled. I couldn't make it out clearly, but I was pretty sure she'd said 'Valkyrie'. First it was my 'Legacy', now talk of a 'Valkyrie'. Nothing made sense. Was everyone here as weird as the few I'd met so far?

"A what?" I asked.

"Never mind. Forget it." She seemed distracted again now. She started walking back towards me and the chest. "Just know that either of those boys could have carried your Legacy by themselves and had strength left over to carry you too. Kota probably just didn't want to alarm you."

She felt around the edge of the chest for the handles on either end, bent her knees slightly like I thought I'd seen weightlifters do on television, and stood up with the chest in her arms. She made it look effortless, like she was carrying a cardboard box filled with packing peanuts. I had thought I couldn't feel more inferior to this woman before but I had been woefully premature in my evaluation.

"Follow me," she instructed, turning to follow her sister up the path. I said nothing. I just pursed my lips and followed, biting back the flood of questions forming in my mind.

"Karen?" Diana balanced the trunk on her hip so she could hold onto it with one arm. She used her free hand to knock three times on the closed door in front of us. "Karen?"

I glanced at my watch. The LED screen blinked at me: 7:30 am. The sun hadn't fully risen by the time we had entered the modern-looking dormitory building on the edge of the compound, and I wondered how many of the residents of the building were conscious at the early hour. "Maybe she's asleep?" I asked with trepidation. Celeste snorted from behind us.

"Not likely."

"Karen!" Celeste knocked again and, this time, the door was yanked open before she could finish the third tap.

A tall, athletic girl with short, bed-rumpled hair stood in the doorway, blinking away the sleep from her bleary blue eyes. She yawned once, rubbing her eyes with one pyjama sleeve, and then seemed to focus on the three people crowded in her doorway. When she caught sight of Diana and Celeste, she straighten up and closed her mouth with a snap. I got the feeling from the prying eyes of the people we'd passed in the corridor that this wasn't an uncommon reaction to these women.

"Morning, Diana." Karen smiled and waved sleepily at Diana, pointedly ignored Celeste. Maybe I wasn't the only one who wasn't a fan of the grumpier twin. "Who's this?" She dragged her gaze away from Diana and focused on me. She drug her eyes down my body, taking in my straggly hair and crumpled clothes. I half expected her to step away in disgust. I knew I looked awful, after the night I'd had, but she just flashed me a friendly grin. "Hi!"

"This is Sang Sorenson," Celeste told her, elbowing me out of the way and stepped past Karen into her room. She paced over to a desk which sat under the large bay window, directly across from the open door, and started rummaging through a pile of papers on the desk.

"Nice to meet you, Sang," Karen said.

"She's joining your dorm for now," Diana told her and Karen nodded. Clearly this was not a surprising announcement to her.

"Thought she was coming tomorrow."

"Clearly not," Celeste snapped. She dropped a book back on the desk with a thud and pushed back out of the room. She looked more annoyed than she had before and I grinned to myself. It didn't seem like she had found what she'd been looking for and she looked down right angry now. I made a note to stay away from her at all costs.

"Cool!" Karen stepped away from her doorframe and beckoned us to follow her down the hall. She stopped at a closed door, painted a duck egg blue with a calligraphic number nine painted on it in black. She pulled a chain out from under her pyjama shirt, flashing a defiant, triumphant glare at Celeste over her shoulder, and then tapped the pendant on it against the centre of the door. The entire door frame flared gold and red and then swung open. She glanced back at me, holding the pendant up for my inspection. "Master key!"

"Home sweet home!" Karen announced proudly, gesturing for me to go in. I stepped inside to find a small, neat bedroom that smelled faintly of cleaning products. It was slightly smaller than my room back home had been, but the bed was larger and there was an open door leading off the entryway into a compact bathroom with a shower above a comfortably sized bathtub. I noted a couple of other doors off the main room, between the vanity table and chest of drawers and decided that I'd investigate the first chance I got.

Diana followed me inside after a moment, struggling slightly to fit the trunk through the doorway. She had to turn sideways and slip through carefully, even with Karen's help to guide her shoulders and fingertips through the tight space. Karen's hand lingered on her shoulder for a fraction longer than I thought was necessary, but Diana didn't seem to mind. I had limited – read, zero – experience with casual touches between friends, besides what I'd read or seen on television, so I ignored it. It seemed a little overly friendly but what did I know?

Diana deposited my trunk at the base of my bed, where it fitted neatly as if it was designed to fit there. Straightening up, she flashed Karen another smile before leaving the room. Celeste grabbed her arm and pulled her away down the hall, out of sight.

"Bye," I mumbled, confused by the abrupt exit. I wasn't complaining though. So far, Karen was the first person I'd met who didn't seem to be slightly unhinged, or odd, or both. I hoped it would last.

"What now?" I started to ask but Karen cut me off excitedly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So, what are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"What are you?" She repeated, and I just shook my head. I'd hoped too soon, it would appear. She was just as strange as the twins.

"I mean, what can you do? What's your gift? How many generations out are you?"

I paused before I answered. She stared at me expectantly, her face full of hope and anticipation. She obviously wanted me to say something specific, but I was struggling to find any words to express how little I'd understood of her questioning.

"How many what?" I said finally and I watched her face fall as I alienated yet another person I'd only just met. I was one for five this morning, if I counted Raven. I hadn't screwed that one up yet, and he seemed to like me – creepy as that was – but there was still time to make it a clean sweep.

"Crap. You really don't know?"

"Not a thing," I agreed.


	3. Chapter 3: Dining Room Dramatics

I sat on a surprisingly comfortable wooden chair and rested my elbows gently atop the long wooden table in front of me. Karen sat to my right, chatting animatedly to a girl who was sat across the table from us. She had long, glossy black hair and the biggest eyes I'd ever seen, but I couldn't recall her name. Karen had introduced me to the five girls who had been already seated at the table when we'd arrived but I had been distracted by the intimidating décor of the room in which we sat. Several others had since joined us, and I was hopeless with names.

We were inside one of the modern buildings, on the opposite side of the main square to the building with the glass walls, but the inside of this room looked like how I would have expected the interior of the Parthenon-type building to look. There were draped silks and tapestries hung everywhere and they dated from almost every period of history I could think of. The wall were obscured every few feet by thin white pillars and each one had a plinth at its base. Each plinth was occupied too, by artefacts that could have fully stocked a small history museum.

In the far corner, near the entrance, I'd spotted several full suits of shiny Arthurian armour, complete with maces and broad swords. Elsewhere there were statues straight out of Norse and Greek legends, statuettes complete with clothing, weaponry and tools that wouldn't have looked out of place in the Far East, the Amazon rainforest or the Arctic Circle. It was an impressive collection and more than a little intimidating.

Directly behind me, as I sat roughly facing the centre of the vast room, I knew there was a statuette decked out in Roman armour and rusted, authentic-looking weapons. The plinth immediately to its left featured a tall, slim silhouette dressed entirely in black leather, which Karen promised me was the fighting garb of a Japanese assassin, or _ninja_. I had glanced at it nervously several times since I'd sat down, not completely convinced that it wouldn't step off the plinth and stab me with the wicked looking _katana_ strapped to its belt.

"Just a costume, promise," Karen had told me with a laugh each time I turned to make sure the figure was still up on the low stone pedestal. "Besides, if ninjas are your thing, you should watch out for them." She'd pointed to a small table a few removed from ours and a bit closer to the wall. Seated at it were four of the smallest, most unassuming looking girls I'd ever seen, and a slim boy who was staring a hole into the wall like the secrets of the universe would slip away if he was distracted.

"Why?" I had asked, but the girl opposite had just giggled at me.

"You'll see."

"So, what is she?" the same girl asked Karen suddenly, pulling my attention back to the present.

"No idea," Karen told her as I focused back into the conversation. "That reminds me..."

"You were going to show me," I prompted, and she nodded.

Karen had refused to explain more after we'd come to an agreement on my lack of any clue of what was going on, back in my dorm room. She'd told me to clean us and change ready for breakfast and had assured me that she would explain soon. It was, however, easier to show me than tell me, she insisted, hence why we were now in the dining room and I had an uneaten bowl of granola and banana chunks on the table in front of me.

"Right!" she agreed. "Let's start over there shall we Anya?"

The other girl – Anya, apparently – nodded, and the noise level of the other girls at the table dropped in anticipation of what was to follow. I looked where Karen was pointing eagerly, my full attention now focused on the two girls and the here and now. I saw several tables of people who looked around my age, although the ages varied as I might expect if this was actually a high school. They looked a bit neater and better behaved than at my school – my former school, I reminded myself with a jolt of recognition and then an overwhelming sense of apathy. It had been a terrible school anyway.

These young people, besides dressing well and being, for the most part athletic and fit, didn't look like anything special. I looked back at Karen and Anya to see them watching my face expectantly.

"What about them?" I asked.

"They, Sang, are Greeks."

"They don't look very tanned," I blurted out, and they laughed again. I blushed, and stammered out an apology. Had I just been accidently racist. Every picture of people from Greece I'd ever seen had showcased men and women with bright, white smiles and tanned, olive skin. In reality, the range of ethnicities and races represented in the group in the far left of the room looked about as far from Greek as was humanly possible.

"Don't worry." Karen reassured me. "They're not Greek. They're Greeks. They are the descendants of the Greek gods. Distant descendants, mind you, but they never let anyone forget it. Pompous asses." Karen scoffed and Anya nodded with an irritated smirk.

"They think they're so much better than everyone else," she added. I looked back over at them and examined them again. Besides the fact that one of the girls on the nearest table was checking out her reflection in the back of a silver spoon, they looked perfectly normal to me. I was examining them more closely when Karen's words caught up with me.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, and Karen was smiling at me as I turned back to her once more. "You said..."

"Greek gods, yeah. It always takes a while to sink in. You okay?" She watched me sympathetically, but couldn't keep the wide smile from her face for long. Either this was the biggest wind up in history or she believed this stuff. Since I could think of no reason why she'd lie to me, and since every single girl at the table was now nodding along with her words, I decided that, for now, I'd go with it as the truth. I'd try acceptance until someone proved it wrong. I just hoped they weren't trying to prank the new girl. I didn't think I could live down the embarrassment.

"I'm good," I told her. "Who are they then?" I pointed at the table that she'd pointed out earlier with the boy staring at the wall.

"Caught that did you?" Anya raised an eyebrow. "Ninjas."

"Really?"

"Really!" she insisted.

"Cool!" I whispered and a few of the other girls at the table snickered at my awestruck expression.

"Shh!" Karen hissed. "Remember that we all found out some time. Some of us just found out earlier in life than others, that's all..." She trailed off and I realised she'd let something important slip, whether by accident or not.

"When did you find out this stuff?" I asked.

"I was five when I got my gift." Karen told me.

"Your gift? Are you a Greek too? Or a ninja?" I was intrigued to see what her so-called gift might be. I was hoping for some kind of proof that she wasn't winding me up.

"Not exactly," she said slowly, hesitant all of a sudden.

"We're Valkyries," another girl piped up from the other end of the table. "We guide warriors to the gates of Valhalla after death." Lovely, I thought. These people are either completely insane or my dad has just driven me up to the gates of Narnia and left me to drown in fairy tales.

"We don't do much of anything yet, Bryn," Karen scolded. The girl looked apologetic and fixed her eyes on her plate. "As Bryn so eloquently put it, we're all Valkyries. Everyone in our dorm actually," she added. "I'm the dorm leader because my power manifested earliest. I've been here since I was eight and my dad couldn't keep my abilities secret from the neighbours anymore."

"What about your mom?" I asked and instantly regretted it as Karen grimaced and several of the girls muttered about me making things awkward.

"Never met her," Karen told me after a few moments of awkward silence. "She's a Valkyrie bound in service to the Norse goddess Freyja for life, so she's probably busy doing Valkyrie stuff I guess."

"Oh," I said uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Once I finish my training and hopefully become a proper Valkyrie I'll meet her in Valhalla, so it's fine. And I've got my dad. He visits me here every few months."

"That sounds nice," I said with a small smile.

"Yeah. Anyway, we all also have the gift of controlling lightning and storms," she told me. She sounded so casual as she said it that I couldn't help but glance around like, at any second, someone would jump out at me and my dad would turn up and tell me that it was April 1st and he was taking me home again.

That didn't happen. What did happen, however, was that the air became warm and humid in the space directly between me and Karen. I felt my throat tighten as the air I sucked in became dry and full of static energy, then I saw a flash of electric charge arc through the air and strike the table right beside my outstretched hand. I whipped my hand back in time to feel the air between us moisten and the world return to normal, save for a small circular burn mark scorched into the wood in front of me.

"Woah," I breathed out. The word barely escaped my lips, I was so awed by what I'd just seen. "Okay. Totally not a prank."

"Sorry. Not a prank," Karen said kindly. "Moving on to the Romans then." She pointed across to a different section of the room and began to identify each group in turn. The Romans; the Egyptians, Persians and Aztecs; the other Norse groups; the various Indian, African and North American deity groups scattered throughout the room; countless more than I didn't have the brain power to process right at that moment. I needed a map.

They also explained that each group had their own dorm building since they tended to keep to their own groups. Mixing groups for classes and such – in school, which was what this was, they confirmed – wasn't forbidden, but it wasn't generally done. That explained the large number of buildings populating the campus. My head was spinning by the time she and Anya finally finished talking. They had been trying to explain to me how Valkyrie Weather Manipulation classes worked when I help up a hand to stop them in mid flow.

"Question?" Karen asked me, and I shook my head.

"Just give me a minute."

I took a moment to compartmentalise everything she'd been telling me, trying to slowly reconcile each revelation with my old, incomplete world view. I figured that I didn't have much of a problem accepting most of it, since the evidence had been pretty conclusive so far, but there was one thing that still troubled me.

"Where do I fit in?" I asked. "They put me in your dorm, so am I a Valkyrie?" I remembered, now that I understood more, that Diana had mentioned Valkyries earlier. She hadn't thought I was one, for some reason, but I was struggling to understand why I might be here. Dad had insisted that I was meant to be here, but I had no gifts or abilities. As far as I was aware my mother had died years ago and was definitely not a Valkyrie.

"I don't think so," Karen confirmed my suspicions. You look a little scrawny for that. Maybe a ninja, though. They're small."

"She could be a fox or cat," Bryn spoke up again. Karen didn't rebuke her this time, but instead looked thoughtful.

"A fox?" I asked. It felt like all I had were questions at this point, but I hoped things were slowly getting clearer. I certainly knew more than I had a few minutes earlier.

"Cherokee Spirit gods. Those kids don't all inherit gifts so it is possible." She pointed out a group of black haired kids with high, strong cheekbones and tanned skin. They'd pointed them out to me earlier, I remembered. My dirty blonde hair and green eyes didn't seem like I'd fit in with the trend they had going on, but who was I to say what I was. I certainly had no idea.

"What about...?" Karen and Anya started to discuss my potential ethnic background, or lack of one, but I tuned it out as I was distracted by someone making their way quickly and decisively down the central aisle of the dining room towards the middle of the room. The guy was of medium height, with slim hips and soft brown hair that swept the nape of his neck in smooth waves. I couldn't really see much of his face as he walked parallel to my table, but his nose had a strong arch and his cheekbones looked well-defined beneath his smooth skin. I watched as he stalked down the aisle with a grace and effortless confidence I would give an arm or leg for, until he reached a table set for ten at the very heart of the room.

There were five guys already sat at the table, although I could only really make out their hair colour and size at this distance. Two of the three who mostly faced away from us were really tall, from what I could see, and their shoulders were wide enough that they took up more than their fair share of space. Next to the one with black hair was another, shorter guy who was equally widely built. Opposite him was a slender-looking guy with chin length brown hair.

The new arrival sat down next to the fifth boy, who had long blonde hair which was tucked behind his eyes. I couldn't see any of them super clearly but I could tell that this fifth boy had looks that wouldn't have looked out of place in the fashion magazine that populated the living room at home, and which all the girls at school had seemed to go crazy for. The group cut a rather striking figure in the centre of the room, and there were still four empty seats at the end of the table. However, I had not noticed a single one of the kids who had arrived to breakfast after me and Karen had made any attempt to sit there until now.

"Who are _they_?" Karen hadn't mentioned them during her whistlestop room tour and I hadn't even noticed them until just now. I had been aware that there was a table in the centre of the room where people were sitting, but it had been like my mind had been discouraged from focusing on them.

"Who's who?" Anya asked me curiously. I pointed over to the table and jumped half out of my seat when I realised that the new arrival to the table was staring straight at me. Despite the distance between us I felt the heat of his gaze on me as if I were standing next to a furnace, and his brown eyes sparked across the room at me. Talk about fire in your eyes. I'd never understood that phrase before, until now.

"Don't stare at them, for all our sakes," Anya snapped at me. She sounded anxious and more a little afraid, so I turned away from the boy with the fire eyes and back to the girls on our table.

"Why?" That was becoming the phrase of the day for me and it wasn't even nine in the morning.

"They are bad news. Stay away from them." Karen told me. It was the most serious she had sounded all morning so I heeded her words, fighting the urge to look back over to see if the guy was still looking. "You shouldn't even have noticed them. North makes sure of that!"

"Who's North? I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?" I couldn't help myself and turned my head to quickly glance back at the table in the middle of the room. The boy was still watching me, the heat from his gaze warming my cheeks as I caught his eye again. He smiled softly at me and reached over to nudge the blonde guy next to him, who looked up as if I'd called his name. I gasped and ducked behind Karen, hiding myself from yet more unwanted attention. I didn't know who these guys were but the power rolling off the first guy was palpable. He didn't feel dangerous to me, just curious, but I didn't want to let any of the others catch me staring, especially if Karen was right about them being bad news. The last thing I wanted to do was get into even more trouble on my first day, before I even knew why I was here.

"Never mind who North is," Karen told me slowly, watching my erratic movements with confusion. She glanced at me, then hesitantly looked over in the direction I'd been looking. "Crap. You've done it now."

"Done what?"

"They're all looking this way. This is bad. This is really bad." Karen muttered to herself, repeating the phrase over and over again and a couple of the other girls cursed under their breath.

"Don't look at them girls," Karen instructed the table and I inched up a fraction to avoid looking too suspicious to the tables around us, who were starting to whisper furiously as they began to notice the new attention the Valkyries were getting. Clearly, this was a big deal and I was starting to wonder exactly what terrible faux pas I'd just made and what that might mean for me.

"Can you explain what just happened?" I pleaded and Karen sighed.

"Alright. Just don't look." I nodded quickly. I had no intention of looking ever again. "So, you remember I told you that we're all the descendants of deities or ninjas or whatever."

"Like the Valkyries," I said. She nodded.

"Exactly. Well we have some small gifts or powers or responsibilities, dependant on who our ancestors are, but mostly we just get send to the Academy to get us away from the rest of the world. The normal, human population aren't ready to deal with this level of crazy."

"Nope. History shows us that's a bad idea," Bryn added with a wry smile. Her eyes flicked over to the middle of the room involuntarily and she flinched. "They're still looking at you."

"Oh," I said. I pressed my finger to my bottom lip nervously and waited for Karen to continue. I hated to have people watch me, especially if I didn't know why or what they might be mad at me for.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we're all descendants with some of the gifts of our parent or distant ancestor. Or almost all of us." She flicked a finger over towards the table in question, keeping it low to the table so she wouldn't be seen to be pointing. "There are some people here though, who are more than that. We call them 'manifests'."

"I don't understand," I said.

"Yeah, nobody does when they start out. You were doing so well at absorbing the rest of the situation. You shouldn't have had to deal with any more until much later. I still don't understand how you can see them..." She trailed off, lost in thought, and Anya took over seamlessly.

"Manifests are those who are directly touched by the gods," she explained. "They actually manifest the power of a particular deity, usually the Greek, Roman or Norse ones. Some think that they are the physical reincarnations of those gods and goddesses, returned to strengthen their bloodlines, but all I know is that they are a hundred times more powerful than those posers over there." She inclined her head towards the table where the girl had been admiring herself in her spoon earlier.

"Why are they bad news?" I asked. I realised now why they might command respect, even if I didn't really understand the whole thing, but I didn't see why that made looking at them or talking about them a bad thing.

"Because they're unstable. By rights they ought to stick with different groups; the Greeks or the Norse or whatever. The instructors actually tried making them do that when the first five arrived when I was ten. It didn't go well. They realised when North and Silas arrived that it was safer just to let them stick together."

"Unstable?"

"Yeah. Bad things happen when people try to split them up. Jade tried to trick North into her bedroom once. She's an Amazonian, really pretty but a total bitch; she used her gifts to separate him from the others. He escaped and nearly destroyed half the campus before Dakota and Luke stopped him."

"Woah!" I said again. My vocabulary was shrinking at a rate of knots with all the information I'd received in the past hour.

"Yeah, so don't get them upset. Like at all! Just stay away, in case anything happens," Karen warned.

"Okay," I agreed. No more looking at them or thinking about the boy with the fire eyes anymore. I could do that.

"It's not that you're not pretty," Karen continued, and I blushed again. I shook my head but she smiled at me. I knew I was nothing special and I knew she was just being nice but it was a rare compliment and it made my heart swell and my skin flush.

"Thanks," I mumbled awkwardly.

"There's loads of guys that would be into you," Anya was off again, talking eagerly. This was clearly a much more comfortable topic for these girls. She glanced over at Karen as if to check she was okay with the subject change. "Or girls..." she continued. "If that's what..."

"Hey, Sang!" A familiar male voice came from behind me and everyone at the table jumped in surprise. I turned to see Kota standing at my elbow, smiling down at me. "I guess when I said later, I meant an hour later." He sounded hesitant, nervous almost; a 180 degree change from the authoritative Kota from earlier.

"Hi Kota," I replied quietly. I flashed him a small smile, twisting around to give me my full attention. I didn't want to give him another reason to be upset with me, not after earlier. "You know Karen and the others?" I swept my hand toward Karen, who flinched and went stiff as a board. I frowned as I heard every conversation in a twenty foot radius stop abruptly and every eye focus on my face or Kota's.

"Hey there," Kota gave Karen a small wave, then turned his attention back to me. "I can't stay and chat but hopefully we'll have a class together later, yeah?"

"Sure," I managed to blurt out before he turned on his heel and started to walk away. I watched his back as he started to trail his way around tables, other students flinching away from him as he walked.

"Sang. How do you know Dakota Lee?" Karen asked, her tone horrified and her posture still stiff and unmoving beside me.

"Dakota? Kota?" I froze too, watching as he made his way closer to the middle of the room. I waited for him to reach his table, sure that each one he passed would be his final destination, but he kept walking. He couldn't be heading for... "He's not _that_ Dakota is he?"

"Afraid so," Bryn said apologetically. Kota came to a graceful stop beside the central table and slid into the seventh chair, slapping the large brown-haired boy on the shoulder as he did so. My heart sank as I realised the significance of what had just happened. Not only had I made the huge error of staring at a group of unstable, incredibly powerful godlike people, I was pretty sure that I'd upset one of them this morning. I was in so much trouble.

"Damn," Karen intoned in a low, hushed voice.

"You can say that again," I agreed. "Damn is right!"


	4. Chapter 4: Starting to Understand

N.B. There is one teeny, tiny swear word in here. If that bothers you, be warned. Also, just know that I love North with all my heart. He gets a lot of bad press in the next couple of chapters but he is still the North we know and love. He's just misunderstood right now. Sang will understand soon enough...

I watched in fascination as students filed in and out of the office to air their grievances and ask for help, just like they might in any ordinary front office in any ordinary school. I sat back in my chair and listened in for a moment as a tiny girl with blindingly white hair requested a schedule change; something about her Myths in Action class not being enough of a challenge this semester. The kindly older lady behind the counter – the only person I'd seen so far who appear to be over thirty – was just attempting to adjust her timetable to allow her to move to the AP class, when I felt a disturbance in the air behind me.

I spun in my seat to find myself staring at a strangely familiar face. He was medium height, for a guy, with a slim build. The soft, yet angular set of his jaw was framed by chin length brown hair, tucked neatly behind each ear. I didn't have much experience in examining physical attractiveness but I got the distinct impression, from the smooth planes of his face, trim yet muscled physique and piercing blue eyes, that this was a particularly striking looking human being – I mean, being... creature... person? I wasn't sure what the correct term was for 'child of the gods'. I did know however, that he could probably give the blond-haired, model-like god from the dining room a run for his money.

I noticed with interest, as I stared openly, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar, that each of his ears had an orange crystal stud in the lobe. His right ear even had several black rings along the top. I'd seen that look sported by several of the students, both boys and girls, at my previous school and I'd had always associated the practise of getting piercings with either rebellion or fashion.

Those were two things I knew absolutely nothing about, I reminded myself. I didn't have a rebellious bone in my body, that I knew of, and the last time I'd had new clothes had been when my father had brought home half the bargain bin from Goodwill for me and Marie to fight over. I wondered absently what Marie was doing right now, if she even knew I was gone, but a soft cough as someone politely cleared their throat brought me back to reality with a jolt.

I blinked a few times and found that my eyes were still fixed on the boy in front of me, who had stopped short just inside the doors to the office. I met his gaze for a moment to find his crystal blue eyes fixed, unwaveringly on mine and gulped. I looked away quickly, realising that I had been staring at him the entire time he'd been in the room.

"Sorry," I mumbled, spinning back around in my seat to face the main counter and the middle-aged woman bustling around behind it. My mind was still whirling, trying to figure out who this stranger was that I recognised him on sight and why exactly I felt like I'd known him all my life, interspersed with fleeting memories of my step-sister and my father. I didn't know if I'd ever see them again and that scared me more than I could admit to myself right then, but the majority of my consciousness seemed to have accepted this reality with ease. It was almost like I really was supposed to be here, crazy as that sounded.

I fought the urge to turn back around and stare at the boy with the beautiful eyes. I felt his aura pass by me and closed my eyes as I was transported instantly to a summery orange grove in the slopes of Tuscany, the gentlest breeze lifting my hair and swirling it leisurely around my shoulders. I could almost feel the warmth of the midday sun on my cheek as I opened my eyes to see both him and the woman behind the counter watching me intently.

I felt my cheeks get warmer under their gaze, coupled with the fading summer sun I could still feel kissing my face, and looked down at my fingers twined tightly together in my lap. As I did so, I saw a few strands of my dirty blonde hair float in an invisible breeze for a moment, then drift gently back to rest against my white, collared shirt. I stared down at my chest for a few moments, disbelief and confusion scrunching up my face as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"Did you just...?" I looked up to see that the boy was talking to me, asking me a question. His face was calm, collected and free of emotion, but the slight tightening of the skin around his eyes let me know that he wasn't nearly as unaffected as he seemed. It would appear that I had just made yet another misstep on my very first day. I was going to get kicked out before the end of the day and sent away. I didn't know where else I could go. All I knew was that – although I couldn't even explain it to myself – I really, truly wanted to be here. It felt like a place that might be where I was supposed to be and that thought alone confused and terrified me. I'd never belonged anywhere before.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly. The boy frowned now, his icy blue eyes seeming to bore into my soul as I spoke. I thought absently that he might actually be able to read my mind, as horrifying as that thought was. "I didn't mean to stare at you. I wasn't thinking; it won't happen again, I promise!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, trouble," he said with a smirk. His whole face seemed to relax and I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that the lady behind the desk visibly relaxed as he did. It was almost as if she had been scared of... Oh, damn!

My mind caught up with itself as I realised why this boy seemed so familiar. I would bet my left shoe, frayed hole in the toe and all, that this boy was no descendant. The beautiful man grinning down at me was an honest-to-goodness god, complete with a lowercase 'g', and I'd been warned not to look at them or talk to them. I was in so much trouble, again!

"I didn't mean the staring," he continued and I focused on his words. I fixed my gaze somewhere towards his Adam's apple to avoid looking him in the eyes. "Feel free to do that again any time. What I meant was... When I passed you, did you feel anything unusual?"

"No!" I answered immediately. I couldn't help the hitch in my voice as I barked out the word and prayed to whatever gods I hadn't irritated today that he couldn't read my mind.

"Right," he said slowly. The tone of his voice told me that he most definitely didn't believe me for a second, but he let the subject drop. I glanced up from my fixed spot on his neck to see that the grin was gone, replaced with the eerily calm, blank expression from before. It was unnerving, but I recalled what Karen and the other Valkyries had explained about the stability of these particular 'manifests'.

"Can I h-help you, Mr Coleman?" The poor woman at the desk pulled his attention away for a blessed few moments, although the fear and unease on her face was unmistakable. He flashed her a devastatingly brilliant smile, one that caused me to relax into my seat just as a result of catching the side of his mouth arching up. I felt a wave of power wash over me emanating from him, then it dissipated almost as quickly as it had arrived.

The woman's shoulders dropped and her posture straightened out as she relaxed and a peaceful smile started to spread across her face. The boy-slash-god leant forward over the desk and started to speak, too low for me to hear clearly. I was trying to listen and make out the conversation, despite the lingering sense of nervousness that the strange wave of relaxation hadn't managed to ease, but I could only make out a few words. The woman nodded after a few moments and pressed a few keys on the computer. She turned to pull a piece of newly printed paper from the machine behind her.

"Have a nice day," she told him pleasantly, handing it to him with another contented smile. He thanked her quickly, then the full force of his gaze swung back onto me. The ease I'd felt only moments earlier blinked out of existence like someone had flipped a switch and I shuddered as all of my ill ease and what felt like every negative thought I'd ever had flooded back into me in an instant.

He started to head towards the door, paused and turned back to me.

"Come on. It turns out I'm your tour guide for the day," he told me and I'm certain he could actually see the blood drain from my face as I blanched in shock. This could not be happening. Did he really expect me to follow him around all day like a little lost puppy? With my luck he'd end up smiting me or something by the end of the day.

"Come on," he repeated, since I'd not moved a muscle. I had shifted forward as if to stand up from the seat when he stretched his arm out to me. His fingers hovered just inches from my own hand and I flinched away instinctively from his touch. He started to frown again and I stood up like a shot, hurrying to stand by his side. No way did I want to upset him again.

"I see," he mumbled to himself, dropping his arm to his side. "What did they tell you about us?" He sighed heavily, seemingly resigned to something. He didn't take his eyes off me though, so I tried to hold his gaze despite my nerves.

"Nothing. Honest," I lied.

"Now, now, trouble," he admonished gently. He winked at me and pushed open the door, allowing me to exit in front of him. I slipped past him into the corridor outside, making sure not to brush against him as I passed by. He didn't seem angry anymore. It was almost like he was playing with me. Joking around. I figured that this was a better side of him than the warnings I'd received so I decided to play along as best I could, for now.

"Nothing bad, I swear," I replied, allowing a small smile to flit across my face and forcing the tension in my shoulders to release a fraction.

"Hmmm, let me guess," he said. "Those sneaky little Valkyries told you that we're all ready to implode at any moment and that a single word might cause me to smite you where you stand?" It was so close to what I had actually been thinking that I couldn't help but gape at him, my jaw hanging open like an idiot. "Thought so."

The boy beside me began to chuckle as we stood there in the hallway. Several other students walked past as quickly as their feet would carry them, staring at him incredulously, but I paid them no attention. I watched, enraptured as the joy and mirth that spread across his face seemed to light up the area where we stood, pouring off him in waves.

"Sorry," he said eventually, once he'd stopped laughing. "Karen has a vivid imagination." I thought that I probably ought to be embarrassed that he was laughing at me but I couldn't help but smile back. His joy seemed to bring new life to his flawless face and instantly made him look more youthful and altogether more human. In that moment I knew that I would give everything I owned to see him smile like that every single day, although I knew almost nothing about him.

"It's fine," I breathed.

"Thanks. I needed that," he admitted. "I haven't laughed like that since the time Luke tied Silas and Nathan's shoelaces together during dinner."

"Oh," was all I could say. The names sounded familiar to me from the conversation at breakfast but I had no idea who either of these people were.

"Sorry," he said again. I got the distinct impression that these guys didn't find themselves needing to apologise very often and he looked like he was actually enjoying it. "I forgot that you don't know us. It feels like... Never mind. Kota told us about you at breakfast. You're Sang Sorenson, right?"

"Just Sang is fine," I told him. I felt the tension in my upper body ease a little more with each word he uttered. Despite what I'd be told – warned – about, he seemed like a good person. It made a change to the horrible stories my step-mother had told me about the inherently evil nature of the entire male species.

"Okay, 'Just Sang'," he agreed with another grin. "I'm Gabriel, but you can call me 'Just Gabe' if you like." I smiled in response. I couldn't help it. Maybe getting people to smile was one of his powers, I wondered.

"Nice to meet you, Gabriel." I gestured to the sheet of A4 paper clutched in his left hand. "Is that my class schedule?"

"Oh, yeah." He blinked as if distracted and glanced down at his closed fist, which was crumpling the sheet of paper between his slim fingers. "Here."

He held it out to me, unclenching his fist as he lifted the paper into my eye line. I held out a hand to take it from him and the tip of my index finger lightly brushed against his palm as I took the paper. I gasped and released my grip on it as a jolt of energy coursed through my finger and down my arm. Gabriel startled too and jumped back from me, his blue eyes flaring as he let the paper flutter to the ground, forgotten. He shook his arm vigorously, apparently afflicted by the same static shock that I had been.

"Oops," I said sheepishly. "Did I shock you?" Wait! I froze. "Did you shock _me_? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, its fine," Gabriel insisted. "It wasn't me! You want Nate for that..." He trailed off, staring at his fingers intently.

"Probably just a static shock, right?" I suggested. His head snapped up to meet my gaze again. He smiled at me again, but this time it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Probably..."

Neither of us said anything for a moment. We stood, still less than ten paces from the office doors, watching each other carefully. I was waiting for some sign of anger in his eyes and he seemed to be waiting for... well, I wasn't sure exactly what but, whatever it was, he obviously didn't find it.

"We should get you to your homeroom," he said eventually. He picked up the piece of paper and handed in to me, being careful not to let our skin touch again. He stepped to my side, placed one hand ever so gently onto the small of my back, leading me down the corridor and into the main part of the school building. I felt a tiny pinprick of warmth in the groove of my lower back as he guided me along, which slowly spread to cover half of my torso. It was surprisingly comfortable and felt so natural to allow him to walk beside me like this, the constant contact not nearly as intimidating as it had seemed just moments earlier. Clearly the static electricity between us was being shielded by the thick material of my winter shirt too, which I was grateful for.

I allowed him to steer me through the crowds of other students, most of whom moved out of his way as we approached. More still stopped what they were doing to turn and stare as we made our way through the sprawling, one-storey building, which was definitely embarrassing for me. Gabriel seemed relaxed and unaffected but the near constant attention, so I swallowed down my objections.

I glanced over at Gabriel after a few minutes and he looked back, as if he could sense my impulsive decision at the moment I made it. I took a deep breath.

"Gabriel, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything." He replied without hesitation. I had to stifle a smile at his eagerness. He really was one of the friendliest people I thought I'd ever met, which made my question all the more difficult to ask.

"Okay. So you obviously know what Karen told me about you and your..." I trailed off. I still didn't know what to call the group of them.

"My brothers," Gabriel offered, and I blinked in surprise.

"Brother?"

"Not biologically, obviously. Although, actually, Luke and North are related by birth." He explained. "I just mean that we've been together for so long that I think of them all as my family."

"Oh," I let that sink in as I thought about how best to phrase my question. "Well, she told me about how some of your brothers can be a bit, urm..."

"Volatile? Explosive? Bat-shit-crazy?" Gabriel grinned down at me for a split second before he seemed to sober up again. "She's not wrong."

"You don't seem to be like that, from what I can see," I offered slowly, choosing my words very carefully. I had to remind myself that I still didn't know much about this beautiful boy beside me, despite how calm his palm against my shirt made me feel.

"I'm not. Not like some of the others." Gabriel's expression got serious all of a sudden. "Let me try to explain."

I nodded. We came to a stop beside a classroom that matched the one on my timetable under the label 'Homeroom 3'. He made no move to open the door, so I waited for him to speak instead.

"It's like Buffy," he began. I must have looked lost because he continued smoothly. "The show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. You seen it?" I shook my head. "Well, this girl Buffy is... well, she's a vampire slayer. Kind of self-explanatory, you know! Anyway, she is the only slayer in the world and a new one doesn't come along unless she dies. Make sense?"

"Not at all," I admitted. He must think I'm a loser to not have seen this show, or any television really. I hoped he wouldn't start listing more shows than I'd have to admit I'd never seen.

"Oh." He looked saddened for a second. "I'll lend you the Blu Ray some time." I nodded and smiled, despite having no clue what a Blu Ray was. "Anyway, the point is that each of us have been gifted powers by an individual god or goddess. We carry those abilities until we are killed in battle or die of natural causes. Then, and only then does another person with that particular manifestation come of age."

The thought of Gabriel dying – or Kota for that matter – made my heart squeeze. I didn't know why exactly. I mean, I'd literally just met these guys, but I couldn't help but feel a painful tremor wend its way down my spine at the thought of anything happening to them.

"We're hard to kill, Trouble," Gabriel said gently, as though he could read my thoughts.

"Can you read my mind?" I blurted out. He barked with laughter again, drawing more unwanted attention from students who passed us by as they entered the room or hurried past towards their own homerooms.

"Nope."

"Sorry, that was rude." I pressed my finger to my lower lip, once again nervous I might have upset him.

"Never apologise to me, Sang," he said in a low voice. "I'd forgive you for anything."

My jaw dropped again and he hurried on with his interrupted explanation, seeming slightly flustered by the way the conversation had turned.

"Now, about the crazy. It's a long story for another time but, basically, there should be ten of us. In our little family, I mean. We have a... let's call it a particular purpose to play in our world. They call us the 'Pantheonic Revival'. Every generation has one, a group of 'manifests' that are set apart by the gods. Only, there hasn't been a 'tenth' for over six hundred years. It's like a part of each of us is missing."

"I'm so sorry, Gabriel." Without realising what I was about to do, I pressed my hand onto his shirt-clad forearm in sympathy. I made sure not to touch his skin, in case we got zapped again, but I just felt an uncontrollable urge to comfort him. I had no idea what such a loss might feel like, but my heart ached for all of them, and especially for Gabriel. He looked so small and lost in that moment that I wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be alright. I'd never voluntarily hugged another person in my seventeen years, but I was seconds away from climbing this boy like a tree.

I dropped my hand quickly and took a small step backwards, allowing the distance between us to grow. He watched me sadly, but didn't say anything.

"The emptiness just a part of us now, I guess," he told me, seeming to shake off some of the sudden darkness in his expression. He smiled half-heartedly, and my heart broke for him just a little bit. "That's why some of my family are a bit damaged. All of our powers and abilities, just like the gods who gifted us with them, have a dark side and a light. None of us would intentionally harm anyone who was innocent, I swear to you on The Lady, but some of us have a more difficult time controlling the dark side of our nature."

"The Lady?" I questioned. It sounded like more than just a throwaway comment. The weight of the two words was palpable as he spoke them.

"My patron," he explained. "The lady Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, fertility, cats and about a million other things. Oh, and did I mention cats!?" He said it so casually that I couldn't help but stare at him. I knew from Karen than he and most of his brothers had been here since they were five years old but I was certain, if it had been me with the immortal patron, I wouldn't be nearly so calm about the whole thing.

"Oh," was all I could think to say. "Cats are great."

"Yeah," Gabriel said with another of his signature grins. "Freyja's awesome. I got off pretty lightly on the dark stuff, if I'm honest. I'm the sweet one. Sweet like sugaaaaar..." He started to sing a tune I didn't know, trailing off to hum the melody to himself.

I giggled. I couldn't help it. He was the life and soul of the party, that's for sure. His attitude was infectious and it made me want to sing along with him, even though I was tone deaf.

"Hey Gabe." We both jumped as we heard a voice echo over Gabriel's shoulder and turned to see a familiar looking boy with long blond hair, loosely pulled back into a low ponytail, standing a few feet away from us and watching us with a twinkle in his eye. "He's sweet, for damn sure. He'll give you cavities if you stand too close."

"Shut up, Luke," Gabriel muttered, but he didn't sound like he minded the comments. He and Luke touched their fists together like I'd seen boys do at school and then Gabriel leaned in to whisper something to the other boy. Luke listened intently for a few seconds, looked over at me with a confused frown, and then nodded solemnly. I tried not to worry about what Gabriel had obviously told him about me.

Gabriel slapped the other boy on the back and turned back to face me. "I'll leave you with Luke. He'll look after you in homeroom, then I'll meet you after to walk you to your next class. Okay?"

"Sure," I said hesitantly. I had felt comfortable with Gabriel so quickly that I was suddenly nervous to be left with anyone else, even if it was Gabriel's friend. I hadn't forgotten what he'd said about some of his brothers being more troubled than others and I was hyper aware that he hadn't gotten around to telling me which ones.

"Don't worry," he told me gently. "Luke will look after you. He's totally harmless. Might as well have no powers at all, poor guy." He winked at me and then yelped as Luke cuffed him round the ear.

"Hey," Luke said indignantly. "I'm plenty awesome, thank you very much."

"If you say so, dude," Gabriel joked.

"I do say so," Luke insisted, puffing up his chest and attempting to look imposing. He already looked plenty intimidating to me, inhumanly handsome face and muscular physique cutting quite a silhouette, but the position he contorted himself into made him look comical. I giggled and Luke's eyes shot to my face, a grin spreading quickly across his features. "I think I'm going to like you, Sang. We should really get into class though. I think North is already in there."

He held out his hand to me and moved as if to reach my hand. As he stepped closer, I was again transported outside of myself for a single moment. I found myself standing in a wide field of orchids, luxuriating under the warmth of the setting sun, which was just starting to disappear below the horizon where the deep purple sky met the farmland of southern Mexico. A potent, intoxicating vanilla scent drifted through the warm, damp air around me and I breathed in deep, never wanting to let the scent leave my nostrils.

"Don't touch," I heard Gabriel say somewhere in the distance, and I opened my eyes to see Luke frozen, his hand hovering an inch from my own. He was staring, disbelief and shock written all over his face, then he pulled back his hand gingerly.

"Right," Luke agreed, the amusement completely void from his face now, and gestured for me to make my way through the classroom door that he was holding open for me with his other hand. I smiled weakly at him in thanks, worried about how stupid I must have looked with my eyes closed, sniffing the air, and waved to Gabriel as I started to walk through the door away from him.

"Sang," he called out and I span around to look at him.

"Yes, Gabriel?" He sighed heavily, then seemed to make a decision. His eyes were sad when he spoke.

"North's not so bad, really. Just remember that..."

He was gone before I could react. He disappeared into the crowd of students filling the narrow hallway, who parted like two halves of the Red Sea to let him through undisturbed. I watched his retreating back for a few seconds but the swarm of people swallowed him up before my eyes.

His words swirled around inside my mind. I had been pretty certain, given Karen's earlier comments, that North was one of the ones I'd need to steer clear of, but to hear Gabriel give voice to the threat made me start to panic. My breath started to come in quick, shallow bursts and I felt my chest tighten in fear. I didn't want to go anywhere near him, for his sake. I had demonstrated today alone my unfortunate ability to rub people up the worst way and I didn't want to accidently set North off on a rampage, to force him to do something he'd regret, simply by my presence.

"You'll be fine," Luke said. I blinked and turned my attention back to him. "You won't even notice him, nor he you. He has a good grip on his temper and he'll be shielded."

"Shielded?" I asked, remembering that Karen had mentioned something about that this morning at breakfast.

"Yeah. He can deflect attention from himself at will, and often extends that to the rest of us when we're together. Once you meet us properly, like you have with me and Gabe, you'll be able to see us regardless of how much he tries to hide us." He smiled. "North on the other hand, could be standing right next to us and your eyes would just drift right over him."

I glanced about nervously. "He's not though, right?" I couldn't see anything but, if Luke was to be believed, I wouldn't know for sure where his brother was.

"No, he's not." Luke tried to make his words sound reassuring but it wasn't really helping. "He'll be fine and so will you. Don't worry." His expressive brown eyes begged me to trust him and I couldn't help but be drawn to the earnestness on his face.

"Alright," I agreed, still standing in the open doorway. I turned away from Luke to walk into the classroom. I realised as I did so that every eye in the room was focused on us. I gulped and stepped inside. Delaying wasn't going to help anyone. I was just reassured that I couldn't see any sign of any of the other guys from that breakfast table in here. Wherever North was, he was hidden from me, so I was reassured that he would not be bothered by my presence. I didn't know why I'd been able to see him, or any of them, earlier, but I was willing to chalk it up to beginners luck and run away as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

"You certainly made an impression on Gabe," Luke snickered as he followed me inside. He indicated a pair of seats against the closest wall, near the back of the classroom. I sat in the front one of the two and he slipped in behind me.

"How do you know?" I twisted around in my chair to continue to talk to him before the teacher at the front of the room called us to order.

"Oh, I just know," Luke grinned again and glanced down towards the back of my chair. "Trust me on that."

~A~

Gabriel couldn't keep the small smile off his face as he wound his way through the mass of students on his way to his homeroom on the opposite side of the building. He hadn't meant to do it, hadn't even realised it was happening. It had been completely instinctual, bubbling up from a place deep inside himself that he hadn't known existed, and it had just forced its way out of him.

He could still feel the soft warmth of her skin under her shirt as he had pressed his fingers to her back. He had revelled in the gentle ripple of muscle as he gently guided her in the direction he wanted her go in and how willing she had been to go with him. She was so beautiful it had to be a miracle. He'd felt the power rippling through his fingers as they'd touched, had assumed that it was her magic that he could feel.

He had been suspicious when their touch had caused their fingers to spark earlier but he had been sure of the truth at the exact moment she had moved away from him, leaving his fingers tingling and numb, all at the same time, because of her touch. He had seen the truth too, when she'd turned around to talk to Luke. It was there in technicolour for the whole world to see; a halo of bright, joyous orange against the stark, clean white of her shirt, fanning out from the exact centre of his hand, where it had rested against the small of her back. He'd marked her shirt with his aura, had lost control of his abilities for just a second, and he'd just known. She was the One.


	5. Chapter 5: Avenues of Peace

I stood awkwardly in the doorway as Luke swept into the room like he owned the space, like it was his own personal stage. I supposed that, in some ways, it was. As he made his way smoothly down the wide aisle between two rows of neat, rectangular desks, towards the front of the room, it was impossible not to notice the reactions of those he passed. Each and every student turned, their conversations and interactions forgotten, as if unable to escape the magnetism of his mere presence. The room fell utterly silent for a fraction of an instant as the aura of the room seemed to flex and ripple before my eyes and then snapped back to reality like a rubber band stretched taut and then released. A few sets of eyes remained fixed on the blond-haired god stalking his own private runway – mainly female, I noticed with a pang of something indescribable somewhere deep in my gut – but for the most part the students went back to their business as if nothing had happened. It was a bizarre phenomenon to experience in person; one man holding that much attention, yet the moment being so fleeting.

"Where do you want to sit, Sang?" I heard Luke say, as he reached a set of three unoccupied desks toward the front of the room. I remained frozen, just a few steps into the room, as he turned to examine the air immediately behind him. I didn't know what to do, hadn't realised that I was meant to follow him, so I stayed where I was. He seemed surprised that I wasn't where he expected me to be, but then his warm brown eyes caught sight of me. He paused for a split second, frowning in confusion, but then recovered just as smoothly, hurrying gracefully back up the aisle toward me.

"Come on." He held out a hand to me as he stepped to my side, and I took it quickly. I was acutely aware that we had something of an audience, but it wasn't until he tore his gaze from mine to pull me back to the empty desks that I realised that the rest of the room was no longer uninterested in the new arrivals. Luke ignored the attention as the room fell silent again, this time remaining that way as I concentrated on not tripping over my own feet. I couldn't help the flush of crimson that stained my cheeks aggressively under the unwanted scrutiny, but followed Luke's lead in ignoring the faces as we passed by.

"Which desk do you want?" Luke asked, gesturing to a pair of desks, one in front of the other. There was a third desk behind the other two, but Luke was blocking it with his body so I chose the front one of the available options. He nodded in approval, sliding out the small, metal-framed chair that was tucked haphazardly underneath it.

I moved to sit down, flashing a grateful smile to him for his thoughtfulness, then my eyes widened in surprise as I noticed the large, black scorch mark spread across the grey, moulded plastic seat. I felt Luke lean around me to see what I was staring at, then the mark vanished before my very eyes.

"How...? What...?" I gasped, looking up at the boy beside me to see him staring intently at the now pristine chair. I looked from his face to the seat a few times, before I couldn't help but ask again. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, that?" He blinked, as if he had forgotten where he was for a moment, and slowly refocused on my face. "That was nothing."

"That was..." I was so tempted to leave the subject alone, to try my utmost not to pry too far into the lives of these guys who were, so far, being far nicer to me than I deserved. I hesitated, weighing up my options, but in the end it was Luke who made the decision for me.

"It's an illusion," he sighed, and I frowned up at him. He continued, his face falling slightly as he uttered each new word. "I figured you didn't like the staining so I hid it. I can leave it if you want." He glanced back at the chair and I saw the air around the chair start to ripple, like a mirage in the desert.

"No!" I grabbed his sleeve to get his attention, and the rippling air fell flat immediately. "You're right, I'd rather not see it." I moved to sit down to make my point, and Luke slid my chair underneath me as I sat down. I couldn't help be reminded of the old-timey movies that belonged to my father, which I'd found and watched in secret when I was young. The men in those movies had done things like this, holding a girls chair out for her like a real gentleman. Nobody did things like that anymore, at least not that I'd ever seen, and I couldn't help the small smile that spread across my face as Luke slipped into the desk behind mine. I turned to face him.

"Thanks," I said. I didn't know which of the kind gestures I was thanking him for, but he smiled back at me. The sad look on his face faded a little and I felt a satisfied fizz in my stomach. This boy had far too much joy in his soul, this much I could see already, to allow him to spend even one second wearing a frown. Not on my account, anyway!

"No problem," he replied. "I just wish I could do more." I watched him for a moment but, all of a sudden, he didn't seem to want to look me in the eyes.

"I don't understand," I admitted.

"Forget it, it's stupid."

"No, tell me!" I insisted, and he glanced up at me from the metaphorical hole he'd been glaring into the surface of his desk.

"Okay. Do you remember what Gabe said to me outside, about me having no real power?"

"Yeah?" I said hesitantly. I didn't know where he was going with this but I knew it wasn't likely to go anywhere good.

"I don't mind him joking about it. He's my best friend, you know? It's just that, sometimes, I feel like he's right."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "You just did..." I trailed off. I didn't know exactly how to describe what he'd done. He'd said 'illusion' but I had no way to know exactly what that entailed.

"I made it look like there wasn't a mark on your chair. So what?! It's not like I actually changed the molecular structure of the chair or anything cool. Not like Kota can, I mean. Or like what the others can do. They all have awesome powers and all I can do is make it so that, if I concentrate hard enough, I don't need to tidy my room if I have friends over. Cool power, huh?!"

"Um, that sounds pretty great to me," I told him. His mouth twitched at the corner but he seemed to be unable to bring himself to smile. "What other illusions can you make? Surely it can't just be useful for avoiding cleaning." He brightened a little more at my words and I decided to make it my mission for the next hour to cheer him up. It was pretty much entirely my fault for freaking out over the stupid chair, so it was the least I could do.

"Well no, I guess not," he admitted. "I can make you see pretty much anything I can picture. If you try to interact with the illusion, touch it or whatever, it breaks down but it does look kind of awesome from a distance.

"Cool!" I exclaimed, before I could stop the words from bursting forth, but the bright smile he returned made me realise that my outburst was a welcome one.

"Watch the window, over there," he told me, pointing toward the far wall. There were a number of wide, tall glass windows spanning most of the length of the room, and the one in question had the blind pulled halfway down to cover the top half. I followed his outstretched arm until my gaze landed on that pane of glass, then I saw Luke crook his finger slightly out of the corner of my eye.

The transparent surface shimmered and glinted for a second, then the glass appeared to melt before our eyes. The amorphous surface started to drip down the wall, pooling onto the ground and spread out. It twisted and twined its way between the feet of the students sat against the wall, trickling slowly toward us. I was following the snaking trail of glass across the carpet when it vanished and the window blind burst out into the room in a cloud of colour. The fabric transformed into a cloud of iridescent blue and green butterflies as I watched, and started to sweep around the room in a graceful swarm. Several students reached up to touch the beautiful creatures as they passed by overhead and I blinked in surprise as their hands and fingers passed right through them. The illusion broke as soon as they came into contact with the soft fluttering wings, and Luke crooked his finger again. All the butterflies vanished, save for one which landed gracefully on Luke's desk in a soft gust of air.

I gasped again, grabbing hold of Luke's hand without thinking. He closed his eyes for a moment, shuddering slightly, but the illusion didn't break. He exhaled in one, shaky breath, and I quickly pulled my arm back, not wanting to break his concentration. It was such a wonderful gift and I was once again in awe of the power that these brothers possessed.

"Wow!" I breathed, as the butterfly slowly snapped its wings open and then closed again. It seemed content to stay where it was, perched on the wooden surface. I wondered absently how much concentration it took to keep up such a precise image but Luke didn't look like he was struggling at all. In fact, he looked calm and peaceful as he watched me examine the butterfly.

"That is incredible," I told him a few moments later. He looked up at me and smiled again.

"You have no idea how much it means to me for you to say that," he whispered.

The creature fluttered its wings one more time, before I felt a movement immediately to my right and saw a large rectangular shadow appear above the table. I jumped backwards, knocking my hip against my own desk behind me, as a thick, heavy textbook slammed down onto the desk between myself and Luke, obliterating the illusion. Luke jumped very slightly, his face contorting in discomfort, and I felt the aura of power diminish as he dropped the illusion altogether.

"Forget this pretty boy and come sit with me and my crew," I heard a thin, reedy voice speak into my ear. I flinched in disgust and leant away toward the wall as I turned to look at the person who had so rudely taken Luke's beautiful butterfly from me.

"Hey girl!" I came face to face with a thin guy sporting a patchy, scraggly beard, who looked to be far too old to be in this classroom full of seventeen year olds. I hoped with everything in me that this man was not my teacher for this class when he leered at me, revealing yellowed teeth and the distinct smell of menthol on his breath. I tried to be polite and smiled at him, whilst attempting to hold my breath to avoid inhaling any of the pungent, second-hand fumes.

"I'm fine here, thank you," I hissed, when it became clear that he was waiting for an answer. The resulting inhale stung my throat and I coughed involuntarily. My gaze flicked to Luke, hoping he would help me out, but he was still staring down at his desk. He had lifted up an edge of the textbook to peer underneath and now appeared totally shell shocked. His breathing was shaky and uneven and he shoved a hand deep into his pocket as I turned to look at him. I wondered if his shock was as a result of his powers being interrupted so unexpectedly and felt my heart go out to him.

"You sure, darlin'?" The goateed guy who was still way too far into my personal space continued, sounding slightly incredulous that I'd turn him down. "My friends and I could show you a good time. I'm Greg, by the way."

He twisted his arm around to hold it out to me. It was a particularly awkward angle, since he was pressed up so close to my desk, but he didn't seem to notice. I took a second, plastering a polite smile on my face, then shifted around so that I could hold out my own hand. As I moved, however, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and then Luke was towering over the guy and forcing him to take a step away from me.

"She said no, Alexandros," Luke snapped, one hand pressed firmly against Greg's chest. Luke was, physically, a couple of inches shorter than the other guy, but his sheer presence at that moment made him look intimidating in comparison. I even saw a brief flicker of fear in Greg's eyes as they stared each other down, but that disappeared as the boy's gaze narrowed and became calculated and full of ice. He glanced over Luke's shoulder and then grinned widely.

"What the hell is going on?" A deep, angry sounding voice echoed through the silence like a bullet, ricocheting over my head and off the walls around the room. It seemed to grow louder as the room remained otherwise silent, until I was forced to cover my ears with my hands. I watched and grimaced in discomfort as most of the other students in the room followed my lead one by one, but Luke and Greg didn't seem to have noticed the excruciatingly loud echo as they remained locked in a hateful glaring match. A grizzled, grey-bearded man, who looked like he was in his late fifties, limped down the aisle towards the two boys and growled as he reached out, yanking them apart in one swift, decisive movement.

I winced as the growling sound struck me like lightning striking in the heart of a storm, then the room was suddenly peaceful once again. I glanced around to see several students removing their hands from their ears so I cautiously did the same. I flinched as the middle-aged man, - who, I assumed, must be our teacher – opened his mouth again, but the voice that came out this time was deep, yet flat and smooth.

"I won't ask again," he snapped, and Greg smiled again. It was a creepy, conniving grin and I knew that, whatever he was about to do, he was clearly up to no good.

"Taylor used his powers against me," Greg lied. The teacher raised an eyebrow at his words, not believing Greg's story, but Greg continued. "I was just talking to my friend when Luke, here, decided that he didn't like me talking to her. He used his powers; he attacked me out of nowhere, right darlin'?" Greg looked deep into my eyes and I felt a blast of power wash over me at his words. I shivered uncomfortably, especially when the teacher turned to watch me too, but I managed to shake my head slowly. I could feel my body fighting my movements, muscles urging my brain to agree with Greg's words, but I refused to let Luke down like that.

"Yeah, he attacked him," a girl a few desks over spoke up quickly. Luke's head snapped up in shock before he turned back to Greg. His eyes blazed with anger as he raised a finger and tapped the other boy on the chest.

"Stop that," Luke told Greg firmly.

"Stop what?" The taller boy simply grinned in amusement and glanced over at me. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something – what, I wasn't sure – but I was saved by a boy behind me piping up to insist that he'd seen Luke cast a disorienting illusion before physically assaulting Greg in front of everyone.

"The evidence would not appear to be in your favour, Mr Taylor," the older man muttered, turning his irritated gaze upon Luke.

"He's manipulating, Master Petros," Luke tried to explain, but even I could see that he was fighting a losing battle. "He's lying."

"No, Mr Taylor," Master Petros told him firmly. "It is you who is lying to me. I'm disappointed in you. I expect this kind of behaviour from North, but not from you. No matter how 'special' you boys think are, how many rules the other Masters let you bend, I will not tolerate you using your powers to harm another student."

"But..." I started to speak, to try to defend my new friend, but the Master held up a single finger and I fell silent.

"Be quiet," he snapped, not even looking at me while he spoke.

"You can't talk to her like that!" Luke said indignantly, stepping sideways to place himself between me and the teacher. The older man opened his mouth to say something else but, at that moment, the classroom door crashed into the wall with a deafening thud.

With Luke positioned just so between me and Master Petros, I could see nothing from where I sat save from a pair of huge, black leather biker boots stomping down the aisle toward the group stood in their way.

"Problem, Luke?" This new voice was deep, but not as deep as the one belonging to the angry-looking teacher. It sounded tense, angry and full of danger. The two words alone were enough to cause the blood to drain from my face and my shoulders to tense up. This was someone who was not to be messed with, and who used their anger and power to get their way. I just hoped that they were on Luke's side. I tried to move to look round Luke but the person had moved again so that I could just see the tips of unruly, dark hair behind Luke's head. If Luke hadn't moved before his arrival, I would have assumed that his positioning himself like this was deliberate, to shield me from this new threat.

"No problem," Luke replied, and I could hear in his voice the effort it took to remain calm and composed in the presence of this new individual.

"Doesn't look like nothing, brother," the voice insisted aggressively and my jaw dropped. This voice had to belong to the mysterious North Taylor, the one that Gabriel had warned me about. Instantly I understood the warning, the look in Gabriel's eyes as he told me that North wasn't so bad. His voice alone was enough to cause my heart to squeeze in fear and made me want to run for cover. I was suddenly very glad I couldn't see the rest of Luke's brother. I slumped down further in my seat, in case I accidently did anything to attract attention.

"I'm fine, really!" Luke's tone was light and breezy now, like he didn't have a care in the world. There was an awkward pause as the entire room, myself included, waited with baited breath for North's next move, but then Luke's whole body relaxed before my eyes.

"If you say so," North said dismissively, a little of the aggression having dissipated from his voice. "So, what now, Master Petros?" He sounded so close to normal as he said this that I could almost imagine that this was a normal guy in a normal classroom addressing his teacher.

"Right, yes, rollcall," Master Petros announced. "Everyone sit down and we'll begin. Eyes front and centre!" I twisted around in my seat as the teacher made his way to the front of the classroom and dropped a pile of manila folders and paper onto the front desk. His demeanour as I watched him bustle around in front of the large, old-fashioned black board was such a dramatic reversal from his earlier determination to punish an innocent Luke. It made me wonder just how scared he was of North. What could possibly be so bad about Luke's brother that even teachers and his own family feared his anger? Even Greg had backed off when North had arrived, and I could see him glaring silently at me and Luke now from across the room.

"Sorry about that, Sang," I heard Luke whisper in my ear and I glanced over to make sure Master Petros' attention was elsewhere, before I turned around to look back at Luke again. I saw a flash of black hair, pinched brows and angry, glaring brown eyes as I moved, then I fixed my gaze firmly on Luke's face. My eyes tightened a fraction as I came to the realisation that I was being watched by not one but two gods. One of which, I really wasn't meant to be able to see.

"It's okay," I said, making sure to carefully avoid the gaze of the boy sat directly behind Luke. My eye twitched and it felt like I was using every scrap of strength in me to avoid allowing my gaze to slip from Luke's face, but Luke didn't seem to notice. His fists were clenched tight against the desk, tucked away in front of his body. I guessed that he was trying to avoid drawing North's attention to the fact that his calm façade was just that, a façade.

"No its not," I heard North mutter behind his brother. Luke's knuckles twitched and scraped against the wooden surface of the desk but otherwise he didn't respond to the comment. If only he knew that I was most definitely able to see both of them. I wondered if his reaction might have changed then, or if he was trying to keep North calm by not responding.

"Andersson, Erica?" The man at the front of the room had clearly found his roster and started to read out the names from it, as students began to raise their hands or mumble half-heartedly in greeting. I turned back around to listen for my name to be read out. There were a large number of names before mine so waited patiently, resisting the urge to talk to Luke again.

"Sato, Kira?" A petite girl lifted her arm lazily into the air from a few seats in front of me. She was dressed in a form fitting black outfit that looked suspiciously like body armour, and as she shifted in her seat I could see the slim, curving case of a katana strapped to her hip. All of a sudden it struck me just how thoroughly out of my depth I was, then I heard a familiar sound.

"Sorenson, Sang?"

"Um, yes. Sir," I added, as a hurried afterthought. I raise my fingers above my head and wiggled them, hoping to avoid more attention. It was clear immediately however that today was not my day when Master Petros flicked his fingers upwards, indicating that I should stand. I did so, but only after Luke laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, reassuring me that it would be okay.

"Welcome to my classroom, Miss Sorenson," the Master said quickly. His words may have been friendly in nature but the disinterested tone with which he spoke them made it obvious to everyone in the room that this man had no interest in my presence whatsoever. "Do I need to be concerned about you?"

"I-I don't understand, Sir," I mumbled, smoothing my shaking hand down my shirt to give myself something to do under the scrutiny of this miserable man. The Master sighed, shaking his head. Several of the students snickered quietly and I heard Luke – or maybe it was North – shift restlessly behind me.

"What power do you have, child?"

"Um, I-I..." I didn't know what to say.

"Undetermined, Master Petros," I heard Luke speak up behind me.

"I see. And will you vouch, Mr Taylor?"

"I will," Luke replied.

"As will I!" I didn't need to turn around to know that it was North who had spoken. No one else could take such inconspicuous words and inject them with such disgust and vitriol. I felt a warm fizz in my belly followed instantly by a crushing wave of shame washing over me as I realised why North had spoken up for me. He was protecting his brother, despite his distaste for me. He had chosen to stand up for me because he was supporting Luke, even though it was clear from his tone that he couldn't stand me.

"I see," was all Master Petros could manage to say. "Be seated, Miss Sorenson."

I slunk down into my seat as quickly as gravity would allow, tucking my body down until I was all but invisible to the older man, hidden behind the other students seated between me and the front of the room.

"Don't worry, Sang," Luke whispered to me. He sounded much surer of his words this time. I guessed that it was because, this time, he had North on his side. I could see why. I wouldn't want to get on the guy's bad side, and I'd never even seen his face up close. "I have a good feeling right now."

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask, even though Luke was clearly not planning on telling me what I already knew; that North was sat there defending him, and me by proxy.

"Because..." North cut Luke off with a bark of harsh laughter.

"Give up, bro. She can see me." Luke started and I felt his shin collide painfully with the leg of my chair.

"What!?" he spluttered and I couldn't help but grin, despite my situation. I turned around once more and came face to face with the most intimidating human being – correction: significantly more than human – I'd ever laid eyes on.

"How's the leg?" North asked wryly and I watched as his lips turned up into a small grin. His hair was dark; not black, like I'd thought, but close. His eyes were dark brown, like Luke's, but somehow colder and filled with a pain and anger that I'd never come close to witnessing before. It was like I could see right into his heart, into his very soul, but the essence of the man was hidden somewhere even deeper, where I couldn't follow. I could feel my heart breaking as I gazed into him, and he into me, and I almost couldn't bear the pain I saw staring back.

I tore my gaze from his and swept it over the rest of his face. He sat absolutely still, not shifting his attention from my face for an instant, and Luke didn't move a muscle either as he watched our exchange with an open mouth. It was like North was daring me to look, to really look, and to be afraid. And afraid I was, a little, but the majority of my mind screamed out for me to fix him, to find some way to take the pain from him.

His eyes were framed by thick, unruly eyebrows, and his skin was much more tanned than Gabriel or Luke's. He had a single gold hoop in his left ear lobe and as I dragged my gaze down, I was surprised to see the coarse facial hair covering much of his broad jaw and lower face. If I had to guess, I'd say that he had grown it to look more intimidating, and it worked. It made him look much older than Luke or Gabriel, despite Gabriel's insistence that they were all three the same age.

"How is this possible, North?" Luke asked after a moment, when it became clear than neither of us were going to break the stalemate between us. Luke shifted in his own seat so both of us were staring at his brother, although North's eyes still never left my face. I tried to look at his broad shoulders; the strange symbols hanging from a cord around his neck; anything, but I was unable to keep my gaze from his for too long. He drew me in, made me want to hug him and tell him everything would be okay, and that scared me far more than the harsh words or the beard. I needed to remember that he was not a fan of mine. Just because I was a friend of Gabriel's and, hopefully, of Luke's, did not mean North would automatically like me or accept me. Not to mention the significant anger management issues he had going on. Not a good idea to mix me with that!

"I have no clue." I heard the gentle swish of the door opening at the back of the room once more but I ignored it as I focused on North's answer. I couldn't help it. I was unbelievably curious and, from the furrow in his brow as he considered the conundrum, I figured that North was just as keen to figure it out.

"Master McCoy! What a pleasure," I heard Master Petros exclaim, then North was being yanked sideways out of his seat into the aisle by a man I'd definitely not seen before.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, North Taylor." The man spat the words with such venom and distaste that tiny flecks of spittle flew from his mouth. Much of it lodged in his bristly moustache, which appeared to match the scant remaining brown hair on his head, but some managed to spot North's cheek. A single muscle in his taut jaw jumped once but, otherwise, he made no move to wipe it off or even acknowledge he had noticed it land. North certainly had more self-control in that moment than I would have.

"I'm sitting in homeroom, as instructed by the timetable _you_ provided me at the start of the semester, Sir," North told him calmly. Master McCoy twitched in irritation, adjusting his orange tie beneath his brown corduroy jacket as he glanced around to see that he had gathered the attention of the entire student population. I wondered whether every day at the Academy was this fascinating, or if it was just today.

"Don't get sarcastic with me, boy!" Master McCoy snapped, spitting more droplets of saliva onto North's face. Again, North didn't flinch. "You know that you can't be sat there."

"Where would you have me sit?" North asked. He seemed genuinely confused.

"In isolation, where you can't hurt anyone. Master Petros, why is there no isolation zone in this classroom?"

"Well, I do not believe in segregating my students without provocation, Master McCoy," was the curt response from the front of the room. A quick glance over there saw that the teacher was out from behind his desk, walking toward us for the second time in less than ten minutes. I couldn't help, when I noticed the annoyance on the man's face, re-evaluating my opinion of him. At least he wasn't the worst faculty member here and maybe today had just been a really bad day for him. He _had_ been quick to defend North, after all.

"Unacceptable." Master McCoy's whole body was quivering in anger now, which made his moustache twitch almost comically. That was when he spotted Luke sat in the seat directly in front of North's, staring up at his brother as if waiting for a call for assistance. "And you! Get up now, Mr Taylor. Both of you know the rules on contact with other students."

The man made a darting lunge for Luke's shoulder and pulled firmly, trying to drag the other boy out of his seat too. North let out a growl, swatting Master McCoy's hand away with a resounding crack. The man's face contorted in anger and he lunged for the collar of North's jacket, abandoning Luke for the moment. Luke stood up swiftly, placing himself squarely between me and the danger again.

This time I couldn't help but peer round him at North and McCoy. Master Petros had now arrived on the scene too and was gesticulating furiously as he screamed at Master McCoy in what I assumed was Greek. It sounded like he was defending North though, pointing from himself to the other, irate Master and then to the two brothers stood in the aisle.

"What is going on?" I heard one of the other students ask in astonishment as we all watched on in shock at the two faculty members duking it out over a confused, uncomfortable-looking North.

"It's all her fault." I thought I recognised the voice and peered out on the other side of Luke's torso to see Greg pointing directly toward Luke, and by extension me behind him. "She did something to them both, stupid whore!"

"Oh, shit!" I heard Luke mutter before the room lit up in a bright flash of light, like someone had just let off a firework display indoors. I heard the scrape of chairs and desks as students fled towards the door in panic, screaming out warnings as they spilled out into the hall, before Luke stepped forward, giving me an clear view of the situation unfolding.

North's arms, shoulders and torso were engulfed in flame, burning white hot as he shook violently like he was being electrocuted. Both Masters were backing up rapidly, knocking chairs and tables flying as they hurried to put distance between them and the blazing figure I hoped was still North. As he turned to follow their retreat, I saw that his eyes were no longer solely brown. The same flame that licked at his black jacket was reflected in the depths of his eyes, like I could see the inferno inside him through the blank expression that was all that remained of the tortured soul I'd just met. Gone was the pain and anger. In its place was emptiness, white hot and destructive.

"North, don't do this." Luke spoke loudly, almost shouting over the roaring of the blaze surrounding North. As I watched, the flames began to rise from his shoulders and arms until they licked the ceiling and started to finger their way towards the nearest wall. The white plasterboard began to discolour and buckle as Luke made his way carefully over to his brother. He lifted his own jacketed arm to cover his face, in an attempt to protect himself from the heat pouring off of North's body. I was much further away and backing up rapidly but, still, the heat and smell of burning leather and plaster was almost unbearable.

"Stop this, brother!" Luke tried again, but North was either unwilling or unable to listen. The flames grew again, enveloping the floor around North, forcing his brother back a few paces. "Please."

Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like his phone, stepping back towards where the two Masters were cowering against the far wall as he tapped the device a few times. I hoped he was calling for help, because gods knew we needed it. We were all cut off from the single exit now and North's furnace wasn't looking to slow up.

Brrrrring. Brrrring. I faintly heard the fire alarm start to sound as a large section of smoking, blackened plasterboard gave an awful creak and collapsed to the ground behind North. My heart seemed to be in my throat as I stared, completely at a loss as to what to do. There was nothing I _could_ do. The smoke in the room started to irritate my eyes so I snapped my eyelids shut and started to pray for help to whoever might be listening.

A gentle gust of wind swirled around my head, cool wisps caressing the nape of my neck. I could still feel the stifling heat from the blaze at my face but, at my back, a cool breeze soothed my heated skin. I kept my eyes tightly shut, instinctively knowing not to disturb whatever was happening, and I felt the cool wind slowly encircle my entire body. It calmed my mind and my heart, filling me with fresh air and new purpose. Suddenly, I knew exactly what I had to do. I just hoped it would be enough to save him.

"I'm coming, North," I whispered, more for my benefit than his. I stepped forward, one footfall then one more. I put one foot firmly in front of the other, my eyes fluttering open to guide my path. I barely heard Luke call out as I moved, but I didn't listen. I had a job to do and, although I didn't know how, I knew that I was the only one who could help him. I'd desperately wished to be able to help North earlier and now it seemed that I would get my chance.

I could feel the heat buffeting me from all sides as I stepped closer and closer, but the strange wind swirled around my body, protecting me from harm. I reached the edge of the blaze itself, hesitating for a moment as the white and orange fingers of flame made contact with my little cocoon of peace and control, then I stepped forward into the furnace.

I could see clearly for several inches around myself, safely inside the tunnel of wind, but outside was only flame. I reached out, searching for North, and the wind rippled and adjusted its shape around my form. My hair swirled around my head wildly, lashing against the sensitive skin of my face and neck, but I ignored the pain. My goal was so much more important than my own comfort.

I touched something solid. Skin on skin. North's hand.

I snaked my hand around his and felt his fingers clench down to grip my own tightly. Too tightly, I thought to myself absently. He was hurting me, crushing the bones in my hand, but I didn't care.

"No! No!"

North's voice punctured my cocoon of peace with an audible crack and the wind swirling around me dropped to nothing in an instant. The flames enveloped my body, my chest, my face. I was going to die. I could feel myself burning up from the inside and the outside, the red and orange fading to shades of grey as my vision failed me. This was it. I had failed.

Then the flames were gone, the pain and heat snuffed out in a heartbeat. Hands that were just a bit too hot caught my body as I started to fall into oblivion; an endless darkness beckoning me toward death. I was lifted, cradled against a hard chest, a heart beating wildly in time with my own and a desperate voice calling out for me to stay awake.

I tried to stay with him but my eyelids were just too heavy, my chest too tight, my mind too lost. I succumbed to the darkness. If this was death, it wasn't so bad, really. I just hoped that Luke and North would survive the flames that had claimed my life.

~A~

"Sang." I heard my brother scream out her name, his voice hoarse and scratchy. I tuned out his voice, my focus solely on the tiny girl folded in my arms. She looked so peaceful, so perfect, no outward sign of the damage I knew so well came as a result of my curse, but I also knew that there was no way she could have survived that. Survived... me.

"No!" I whispered again, unable to muster more energy after my curse had ripped through me. I hugged her fiercely to me, my eyes fixed on her face. "Please don't let her die." I didn't know who I was praying to but I silently repeated my prayer until it echoed around my mind. I was screaming the words inside my head to anyone who might hear me. Don't let her die. Live, Sang!

"Why did she walk into the flames?" Luke was standing above me now as I knelt on the blackened floor, his shadow looming over me and the girl in my arms. She seemed to fade as the light was blocked from falling on her beautiful face and my breath hitched. I'd just killed someone. For all my flaws, until now I had never been the cause of anyone's death and now I'd killed her. Gabriel had told me about this girl, had messaged all of us about how special she might be, and now she was gone.

I would surely carry this sin with me, alongside my curse, for the rest of my life.

"Why?" Luke repeated, and I glanced up at him. It hurt to take my eyes off her, but my brother needed an answer.

"I don't know. I think, somehow, her touch brought me back. I could feel her, inside my head. I think, maybe, she knew." I couldn't explain it but I knew that I spoke the truth. She had saved me and it had cost her her life.

We both looked over to the doorway as the sound of hurried footsteps echoed out in the hall and then Gabriel and Nathan slid to a halt just inside the doorway.

"The others are on their way. What happened?" Nathan asked, staring around at the destruction and damage around me, but Gabe's eyes locked immediately onto Sang's face.

"No." He echoed my words.

"I'm sorry." There was nothing I could say to fix this but I spoke the words anyway. Gabriel's face crumpled in agony and I could only watch as a single tear tracked its way slowly down his face.

"North..." The entire world froze around me as I dragged my gaze back down to Sang. She sighed, her lips parting slightly as she breathed in deeply. My chest felt like it was carved from marble and I couldn't move, but Luke spoke the words that I couldn't force past my lips.

"She's alive!"


	6. Chapter 6: UprisingLet Him Sleep

~?~

I hesitated as I reached the wall, letting out a shaky breath as I pressed my forehead against the smooth, weather-worn stone. I felt a tremor ricochet down my spine as the icy wind whistled through the gates and whipped around me. I was still outside the compound, still safe from the horrors held within but, with just a few more steps, I would soon find myself unable to turn back. For the hundredth time I pleaded with the voice inside my head to let me leave, to let me go home to my family, but the voice was now uncharacteristically silent. Instead, I just felt a sharp tug in my gut and felt my body start to move of its own volition.

"No. Stop!" I didn't know if I was talking to my own body or to the voice who had haunted my thoughts and dreams for weeks, but I couldn't halt the words as they tumbled out of my mouth. "Please?"

I fought against the unseen force with all the strength I could muster, but despite my efforts my feet took step after step until I was been forcibly squeezed between the wrought-iron bars of a pair of vast gates embedded deep into an opening in the wall. As soon as my body started to pass between the bars, I found myself rocketed forward like I'd been fired out of a cannon. My palms hit the damp, muddy path with a slap as I pitched forward with a yelp, and then I was suddenly face to face with a pair of grey boots, peeking out from beneath a black cloak.

"Help me," I started to cry out but my throat constricted tightly around the words, forcing me to gasp for air and clutch at my chest. I couldn't breathe!

"Shut up, human!" I knew that voice. The hoarse, grating undercurrent. The stiff, emotionless delivery. The inhuman crackle of an electronic modulator. It was the voice that had been the cause of my endless, sleepless nights and the perpetual state of fear and paranoia that slowly destroyed my life. It had poisoned me from within, threatened my family, and forced me to come out here in the middle of the night and walk miles into the wilderness to find this forsaken place.

"Why are you doing this?" I begged. I gasped in agony as I was rewarded with a vicious mental slap for my disobedience. I bit down on my bottom lip and steeled myself against the onslaught. I didn't try to speak again, and reminded myself that I was doing this for my wife and my daughter. For them... for them, I would survive!

"You're late," the cold, echoing metallic voice told me. There was no sign of emotion, nothing in the delivery that would give any clues as to gender, age or anything I could use to escape. "I don't tolerate tardiness."

There was a pause as the figure in black waited. I opened my mouth to apologise but remembered, just in time, that I wasn't supposed to speak. At least, I hoped that rule was still in force.

"Good," came the reply. I sighed in relief. I had done something right by the voice for once. I started to lift my head to look up at my captor but my muscles seized painfully and my head throbbed violently, which I took as a warning not to look up again. I hung my head against my chest, still on my hands and knees in the dirt and waited.

"The girl has arrived," the voice continued. I blinked in surprise. I'd heard the voice, inside my head, muttering about a girl before. The voice had seemed angry at her, hateful even, but I didn't know who she was or what she'd done to be so loathed. "The bonding has already begun. She cannot be allowed to live long enough to see it to completion. I cannot leave this place; the protections are too strong, but you can. I need you to deliver a message for me, human."

There was a brief pause and I felt my hands start to sting as the grit on the shadowy path began to dig into my palms painfully.

"You may speak."

"Please?" I whispered. My teeth chattered as I spoke, the thin, cotton nightshirt doing nothing to protect my skin from the elements. "Leave them alone!"

"Oh!" The voice for just a moment sounded surprised, as if my words had caught them off guard. "If you do as I ask, I will have no reason to harm your family. Once the task is done and the message is sent, you may return home. We will not meet again after that, I assure you."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed as tears of joy spilled down my face, scorching a searing, needle-like path as they came into contact with my chilled flesh. "I'll do anything."

"I was hoping you might say that." Satisfaction. It was fleeting yet unmistakable, but I didn't care. I'd spoken the truth. If I could make sure they were safe, I'd go to the ends of the earth and back.

"Where do I need to go?" I asked quickly. "And what is the message?"

"You need not worry about where," came the response. "I will guide your mind. You will know the path. As for the message, it's simple. Tell them that it is time. Tell them that the war is about to begin. They will know what to do."

War? My mind rebelled against the word. Was this some kind of terrorist group? Was I facilitating worse horrors than I could have even imagined? Could I do this?

I thought of my wife. Of my baby girl. She was only three years old. She needed her father and I needed to go home to them. There was no decision to be made. I'd do anything!

"Okay," I agreed, defeated. I had no choice. I could only hope that somehow, through this, I could figure out the identity of my captor and find a way to stop them from threatening us or anyone else ever again.

"You may go," the voice told me dismissively. I watched the cloak sweep the damp ground as they turned on a heel and started to walk away, away into the dark. I glanced up, hoping to catch a glimpse of a face, hair... anything. The cloak enveloped them from head to foot, a thick hood pulled up over their head. I had absolutely nothing, yet again, and the eerie, modulated laugh that floated through the darkness told me that they were already one thought ahead of me.

"Wait!" The figure paused, but did not turn back. "Who do I say sent me?"

"It will not help your family." I shivered again, this time not just from the cold. I wondered just how much of my thoughts this creature could simply rip from my mind and how much was intuition on their part. My common sense told me that mind readers couldn't possibly real, but I got the feeling that common sense had no power in this place. "Tell them that their master calls them to service. Tell them Volto sent you."

Sang

"Ssshhhhh!" My eyelids fluttered as I heard a male voice speaking in a low whisper. If I factored in the disorientating, spinning sensation and the pounding drum tattoo marching its way steadily across my skull, it shouldn't have been surprising to me that I couldn't figure out what direction the voice was coming from, but it sounded close by. Maybe it was my father, coming in to see why I was sleeping in. "Don't wake him."

Him?! Unless something had gone drastically wrong while I was asleep, I wasn't the subject of this particular conversation. Then who, I wondered? It wasn't like I made a habit of falling asleep in rooms with strange men in them. Not unless I'd fainted...

Memories of the past few hours hit me all at once and my eyes shot open. I was in the Academy. My dad was gone. North was on fire! I sat up so fast that my vision blurred, and I felt the world tilt precariously as the vertigo and pain in my head threatened to knock me sideways.

"Woah!" I heard another male voice, this time definitely from behind me, and then someone was gripping my shoulders, holding me upright. "Take it slow." I flinched and jumped at the contact, panic coursing through me at the thought of a stranger touching me, but managed to avoid screaming out when I saw a familiar face only inches from my own.

North's eyes were closed, his cheek resting on his outstretched arms as he slumped over the bed I was sitting up in. The position he was in didn't look like would do his neck or back any good, and the mattress beneath us both was thin and stiff, but he looked completely at peace. The deep furrows that I'd noticed earlier, the tell-tale signs of worry, were gone from his face, and his features were slack and unaffected. A few strands of his dark hair lay flat against his upturned temple and the remainder looked as though he'd run his fingers through it one too many times.

He looked so much at peace that I almost forgot about our audience and the fact that my current good balance was solely thanks to the hands on my upper arms. I reached out a shaky hand and moved as if to stroke my fingers through the soft, unruly hair. I couldn't help it, I wasn't even thinking. I just knew that I wanted to touch him, to make sure that he was real.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Trouble. Let him sleep. God knows he needs it." This time it was from so close by that I actually felt the hot breath kiss my earlobe. I froze, fingertips hovering a mere hair's breadth away from North. Now, I definitely recognized _that_ voice.

"Gabriel?" I exclaimed, tearing my gaze from North to look for the other boy. I felt the fingers wrapped around my right bicep give a small squeeze and twisted around to meet a pair of dazzling green eyes. I struggled to focus properly for a few seconds because he was so close to me, but eventually a tanned face and a winning smile swam into view. A few strands of pale golden, almost sand-coloured hair actually brushed against my skin as we found ourselves almost cheek to cheek, and I leant away to give him space. "You're not Gabriel."

"Close, but no dice!" I slid my eyes from the sunny stranger as Gabriel's face popped into my periphery, squatting down to squish his face in beside the other man's. "I'm Gabriel, obviously. Shove over."

Gabriel hooked his arms around the safety barrier, which had obviously been omitted or removed on North's side of the bed, and elbowed the other man squarely in the shoulder. The man let out a loud, indignant grunt, then the fingers around one of my arms disappeared as he slapped a hand squarely over his lips.

"I told you to be quiet," Gabriel whispered to him with a grin. I could hear the teasing, playful tone in his voice and that, matched with the undeniably childlike grin on both their faces, went a long way to reassuring me that this man was a friend of Gabriel's. I hoped absent-mindedly that, with dimples like that, he's consider being mine too. This man would give Luke a decent competition for 'brightest smile in the room' any day.

"Sorry," the green-eyed man told Gabriel, flashing him a mischievous, thoroughly unapologetic grin in return. "Don't mind him. He's just excited that a certain someone is awake and someone else is not. I'm Sean, by the way."

"Hi." He waggled the fingers of his free hand at me and I giggled. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at my sudden exhalation and he glanced over at Gabriel. That made me laugh harder, even when I felt a tight muscle stretch painfully in my back as I shook with mirth. Just in time I remembered North, sleeping soundly right beside me, and managed to refrain from shifting in the bed too much. I thought I probably had the rock-like quality of the mattress to thank when, even while all three of us peered curiously over at the prone boy, he didn't stir.

"Please tell me she's not another giggler!" Sean asked Gabriel, being sure to return the conversation to a whisper.

"Sorry, doc. You started it!"

"Wait. Doc?" I asked quickly. The older man turned back to look at me and nodded enthusiastically.

"That's Dr Sean Green to you, Miss," he told me. He sounded playful, like before, but there was a hint of pride underpinning the jovial tone. I got the feeling that the designation was something that Dr Sean Green had worked hard to attain.

"You're in the infirmary, Sang," Gabriel said, smoothly continuing where the doctor left a pause. The transition sounded completely natural coming from him, but it felt like something I'd need to practise for months to be able to pull off. "Do you remember what happened to you?" The smile fell from Sean's face slightly at these words and Gabriel looked as serious as I'd seen him throughout our brief acquaintance so far.

"Yeah," I told them slowly. "I mean, I think so." I frowned, trying to straighten out the series of events in my head. "I remember the classroom and then North caught fire." I trailed off, glancing down at North's peaceful, sleeping face. "I remember wanting to save him, to save both of them, and then... Luke!"

My eyes widened in sudden terror and my breath hitched. I grabbed for the safety barrier and felt my fingers brush against Gabriel's for a spilt second before he yanked them away like he'd been burned. I wrapped my fingers around the cool metal bar and held on for dear life.

"Luke? Is he okay?" I was momentarily fearful for North's safety too but he was right here, unharmed, in front of my very eyes. "How is North not dead?" I added.

"Calm down, Sang. It would take an atomic blast to take out Sleepy-head over there," Gabriel reassured me. Sean gave me another, reassuring squeeze with the hand still folded around my bicep and nodded.

"Luke's fine too!" the doctor continued. "Everyone is the building is fine, thanks to you."

"Me? What did I do?"

"What-what did you do? You and I have only just now been acquainted and I can already tell you're going to be a handful, Miss Sang!" Sean exclaimed in surprise. "Only you could charge headlong into danger and not remember it, trouble."

"Hey, don't call her that!" Gabriel snapped, an unexpected scowl creeping across his face. I frowned at him and then watched in confusion as the two of them held some kind of silent debate above my head, staring intently at each other until Sean nodded abruptly and changed the subject. It happened so fast that I almost missed the exchange but I got the feeling that something had just been agreed between the two of them. I wondered if it was because of me.

"What should I call you then, Miss Sang?" Sean asked me. I was surprised by the seemingly random question but I shrugged it off. I didn't mind what he called me as long as he would smile again. I was quickly becoming addicted to my sunshine smiles and, try as I might, I couldn't muster up a single embarrassed feeling about it. I didn't want to.

"What about Sang?" Gabriel asked, the grin slowly reappearing. "It is her name, after all."

"Nope. Everyone gets to call her that," Sean said thoughtfully. "She deserves something as unique as Sang herself." I couldn't help but blush at that. I didn't really understand what they were talking about still, but even I could tell that he'd just paid me a compliment. It was probably my first, I thought to myself, as a pleasant warmth spread through my whole body. I decided then and there that I quite liked compliments.

"What about Tiny?" Gabriel offered. "Or Tinkerbell? Or maybe Blondie?" He gestured at my hair and I glanced down at my shoulders. I guessed my hair probably was mostly blonde if you looked hard enough. I'd honestly never given it that much thought.

"Better," Sean offered with a shake of his head. "But still not perfect. How about...?"

"How about shut-the-fuck-up?" We all jumped in surprise as the bed shifted beneath me and then North lifted his head up to glare sleepily at Gabriel. "Why did you wake me up so...? Sang!" He pushed himself out of his uncomfortable-looking chair in one fluid motion and bent over me so fast I pitched backwards onto my pillow pile in shock. North's hands shot out and he lunged forward as if to catch me but then stopped himself short, tucking his fingers into the back pockets of his jeans instead.

"Welcome back, North," Sean told him from over my shoulder, then muttered into my ear. "We can give you an awesome nickname later, okay? This can't wait." I nodded, unable to take my eyes of North.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He let out a harsh bark of laughter and shook his head back and forth, like he couldn't believe that I'd asked him that question. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, seemingly unable to find the right words.

"You're asking me if _I'm_ okay?" He breathed out finally. "I thought I'd killed you. God, Sang! I thought you were _dead_."

"I don't understand." I insisted, glancing round at each of the guys huddled around my bed. My hospital bed, I realised with a shock. Why was I in a hospital bed? I tried to search through my mind for my last memory before waking up. "I-I was across the classroom. The roof collapsed. It was so hot. Did I black out?"

"Not exactly," North said grimly. "I don't remember much either, but Luke told me what happened. You stopped still and closed your eyes, he said. He thought you were going to faint. He was trying to make his way across to you when you lunged forward and started walking towards me."

"I don't remember that, North," I said apologetically. I wished I could remember what I'd done. I could only recall wanting to help him but not being able to. I had been so helpless. "I couldn't save you!"

"I think you did, though." North blurted out. He seemed shocked by his admission, but continued after I failed to speak. I couldn't think of anything to say. I hadn't been able to save anyone. I was just little old me, completely clueless and totally out of my depth. "You reached me after the flames took me."

"You walked into the flames, Sang," Sean explained. I shook my head vehemently.

"No, I can't have done. I'm nowhere near that brave."

"You're a goddamn badass!" Gabriel said proudly. I smiled at him but the smile didn't quite reach my eyes. He didn't seem to notice.

"That's not badass, Gabriel," North chastised his brother irritably. "I nearly _killed_ her."

"But you didn't, North," Sean pointed out. He ran his fingers through the air, tracing down the line of my arms on either side of my body. "Look, she's fine!"

"That is not the point, Doc!" North scowled down at the mattress and, when he looked back up at us, I could see all of his pain and anger reflected back at me again. It was at that moment that I realised that, until just now, the darkness in North's eyes had been mercifully absent, and I wished that I could figure out a way to make it go away again. I reached out instinctively to touch his bare arm or the back of his hand, folded over the grey t-shirt that stretched across his broad chest.

"Don't!" he snapped abruptly. He hurriedly stepped back away from the bed, knocking over the chair behind him in his hurry to escape my reach. I felt my face crumple as he moved and I blinked back a tear. I couldn't let any of them see me cry. I barely knew these people and I'd already caused enough destruction. No wonder North didn't want to be anywhere near me. I tucked my chin into my chest and stared hard at my knee, willing myself not to cry.

"Well shit, North," Gabriel muttered from behind me. "That went well."

My breath hitched at his light-hearted tone and I heaved out a heavy, shaky sigh. Don't you dare cry, Sang Sorenson! You're stronger than that.

"I didn't... I mean, I don't..." North stammered, trying to explain.

"I-its fine," I whispered. I didn't look up but I didn't need to look to know that I had three pairs of eyes on me. Why wouldn't I? I must look pathetic.

"No, no! That's not what I meant. God, I'm so fucking bad at this. Please look at me?" He sounded so desperate that I couldn't help it when my resolve broke. I could deny this boy nothing, even if I brought him only pain. My eyes filled with unbidden tears as I locked eyes with a stricken-looking North.

"Please don't cry!?" he whispered. He looked so utterly broken that I couldn't take it anymore. The first tears slipped down my cheeks and were quickly followed by a deluge. I swung my legs around so that my feet were dangling over the edge and gripped the edge of the mattress for fortitude.

"Fix her, please?" North looked desperately over my head at Gabriel and Sean. I heard a rustle of fabric and then two more faces swam back into my field of vision.

"Damn," Gabriel breathed, staring from me to North and back. "Okay, here's what we're going to do."

He hopped up next to me on the bed, hooked an arm around my neck and hugged me tightly to his side. I froze in surprise as his warmth permeated through my shirt and seeped into my skin. I swallowed nervously, trying to figure out how to react to this new development, before relaxing a little into Gabriel. He pulled me into him tighter and bent down to look me in the eyes.

"There. She's not crying anymore."

I wasn't? I lifted a hand to pat my puffy, tear-soaked cheeks. They came away with moisture, which I wiped carefully onto my skirt, but Gabriel was right. I had been so surprised by his unexpected embrace that I'd completely forgotten to continue to cry.

"I told you I was a genius," Gabriel told North. The taller boy took two hesitant steps toward me and I held my breath. I didn't want to scare him away again.

"A real Einstein," Sean teased from somewhere to my right but I couldn't take my eyes of North. He looked like I'd kicked his puppy and punched him in the face at the same time. I needed to make this right.

"I didn't mean to..." I started.

"I'm sorry," North said at the exact same time. I gave him a small smile to encourage him to continue. I wanted to understand. "I didn't mean to run away. It's just, well... I can't."

"You can't what?" I asked, even more confused.

"I-I can't say. I'm not supposed to..." North's frown lines reappeared in full force as he struggled to decide what to say. He glanced over at the others again but, this time, they said nothing. "I can't explain. I'm sorry," he finished lamely. My face fell and the expression I wore was mirrored on North's own face.

"Perhaps I can help?" Four heads snapped up and over to the now open door, somewhere behind North. I hadn't even noticed it open, so distracted was I by the broken boy in front of me. Kota stood patiently, leaning against the doorframe, watching us calmly as we gaped at him.

"How long how you been standing there? Gabriel asked.

"Long enough." Kota told him curtly. "You three need practise in observational skills, it would seem." He smirked, but the smile was gone again just as quickly. Under Kota's stern gaze, Gabriel unhooked his arm from my shoulders and leant away from me slightly. I was surprised by how bereft the loss of his touch left me. "You are all to report to the family office immediately. Master B wants to see everyone regarding the new development." Kota's gaze flickered to mine for an instant before he moved on to fix his eyes on North, who nodded in compliance. I wondered how much Kota couldn't say in front of me, since I wasn't part of their family. I wondered if, maybe, I should offer to leave and let them have their privacy.

"Now!" Kota ordered. Thirty seconds later, the room was empty save for the two of us. I took that to mean that the doctor was part of the family too, which I probably ought to have realised much earlier. He and Gabriel shared an easy, effortless camaraderie that didn't just happen overnight.

"Can I sit down?" Kota indicated the spot that Gabriel had just vacated and I nodded, scooting up towards the pillow end so he would have enough space to sit comfortably. He lowered himself down slowly, as if he was trying not to jostle me. I wondered briefly if he knew what had happened, before I realised that it was a foolish question. Of course he knew! Even if North hadn't destroyed half a classroom, they were brothers. They would have all been told about North's accident. I hoped that Kota didn't know it was my fault, though. Then he'd have even more reason to hate me.

"I know that you probably have questions," he began. I didn't say anything in return. I didn't need to. My confusion was becoming perpetual at this point. "I promise that I will answer any question you have. I swear to you that I will help you to understand but, first, I need you do me a massive favour. Can you do that?"

"Yes." I didn't even hesitate before I answered. There was no question about it. I needed to know what was going on.

"Good girl." He smiled down at me and I smiled back. I'd never smiled so much in my life before today. I wondered if gods just smiled more than mere mortals, or if it were my meagre prior experiences that were lacking.

"Now, after the incident in homeroom yesterday..."

"Yesterday!?" I interrupted. It couldn't be. I couldn't have been out that long. "What time is it?" Kota checked his watch before answering.

"Almost midnight. You've been out for nearly two whole days, Sang."

"No," I breathed. No wonder North had been concerned about me. I'd never lost consciousness for that long before. I still didn't really know anything about what had happened but I hoped with every fibre of my being that Kota would keep his promise and explain everything.

"Yeah. Anyway, after what happened yesterday I talked to Ow... Master Blackbourne. He's... I guess you could say he's the older brother figure in our little family. Our defacto leader, as it were."

"I got the impression you were in charge," I admitted, thinking about the calm control Kota had just exhibited over his brothers.

"In the field, maybe, but I don't go against Master B. We act democratically, for the most part, but his word is final." He looked like he wanted to say more, but then seemed to remember his original purpose. "He and I discussed the situation and we think," he paused, "that we know what is going on."

"Can you...?"

"In good time, I swear. I don't renege on my promises, Sang."

"Okay." I'd hold him to that promise.

"We need to be sure, but we think you might be able to help us." I thought that was unlikely but, as he spoke, Kota got a hopeful gleam in his eye. I didn't want to discourage his hope, however unfounded, so I bit back my remarks concerning my myriad inadequacies and the suspicion that I didn't deserve to be in a school full of powerful demi-humans and gods. I was no one, nothing of note, but I wasn't going to get to the bottom of anything that way so, for now, I'd stay quiet.

"That brings me to the huge favour. We, myself and Master Blackbourne, need you to keep your distance from our brothers for a few days until we can be sure of the potential consequences."

"Sorry but you've lost me again," I admitted. I was trying to follow Kota's logic but I was completely lost.

"My fault, don't worry. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it either. I had a hard enough time explaining it to the boys and I had Master Blackbourne to help me for that one."

"Why doesn't he explain it to me, then?" I asked. For once, it seemed to me to be a logical leap but, by Kota's panicked expression, I knew I'd said something wrong again. That just seemed to keep happening around me. Not for the first time, I wondered if saying stupid things was a power you could inherit. Maybe then I'd actually know that I fitted in here.

"That..." Kota frowned over at a blank space on the cream-coloured wall. He seemed to choose his next words carefully. "That would probably not be a good choice. You saw what happened with North. If we're right about your part in all of this, you going within a hundred paces of Master Blackbourne would be a mistake."

"Why?" I couldn't help my question. I just needed any scrap of information he could give me.

"Well, like North, his powers can be a bit destructive, just in a different way. It is not at all because of you, Sang. He wanted me to make sure you knew that. It's just that, until we can make sure it's safe, he doesn't want to put you at risk."

Okay! Stay away from their terrifying sounding leader. I could do that. I didn't even know what he looked like but I'd do my best to steer clear. I wondered if Kota wanted me to avoid Gabriel, Luke and North like that. I didn't like the twinge of discomfort in my stomach at the idea of not seeing them again. I didn't want my first friendships to end like this. I didn't have anyone else to turn to. I'd be alone again. I wasn't sure I would survive here if I had to go it alone.

"You just need to avoid physical contact with the rest of us." Kota eyed me thoughtfully, as if he had known what I was thinking. "I don't think I could even attempt to enforce a perimeter rule at this point. Gabe is far too stubborn for that. Besides, from what I saw just now with North, _he_ seems to have taken the instruction to heart well enough. If the others do the same, we shouldn't have any problems."

"What problems?" I asked. Then, as the thought occurred to me, I added. "Hey, Gabriel was touching me. And Doctor Green!"

"Don't worry about problems. That's a worst case scenario and if the rule is enforced properly, there won't be any." He grinned again before answering my second question. "Gabriel has a propensity for rule-breaking. I'll talk to him about it but I think, based on our theories so far, he won't be able to cause too much damage if he does ignore us. And Sean is our healer; he was monitoring you while you were out. The only person who was in the infirmary longer in the past two days was North, and he slept here."

"He what?" I gasped. The only furniture in the sparse room besides my bed was the upturned wooden chair. Surely he wouldn't sleep on that thing overnight.

"He wheeled in a cot from next door last night. He refused to leave until you woke up." Compassion filled Kota's voice and I wondered just how guilty North really felt about what had happened. He had to know that it had been my fault in the first place, right? I had no-one to blame for my missing days but me.

"Will you do it?" Kota asked me, resting his hand gently on my shoulder. He made sure to avoid skin on skin contact but the warmth from his touch still made it through the fabric. "I know it's a lot to ask."

"If I do, you'll tell me everything?" I verified.

"Everything!" He agreed.

"Okay. I'll do it!"


	7. Chapter 7: Butterflies and Facial Hair

"Morning!" I glanced around, bleary-eyed, searching out the source of the chipper, sing-song greeting. A tall, willowy black girl with bright red, dyed hair, whom I thought I vaguely recognised as one of the Valkyries at breakfast that first day, waved enthusiastically at me across the large, communal shower room. I took the vigorous arm flailing to mean that she was probably the one currently attempting to make conversation with me but, just to be sure, I waved back slowly.

"Good morning?" I didn't mean to make it sound like a question; I just couldn't help it. My head still throbbed sluggishly, causing my vision to blur in and out of focus every couple of seconds, and my mouth felt like someone had filled it up with cotton and left me to dry out in a desert. I hadn't wanted to seem like I was making a fuss so, last night, when Kota had asked if I felt well enough to return to my dorm room, I'd foolishly said yes. Now, in the cold, harsh light of a new, wintry morning, I felt even worse, if that was even possible.

"When did you get in last night, Sang?" the girl tried again to encourage my continued interaction. It felt rude just to ignore her, although my exhaustion and light-headedness had clearly paired off to insist that I do just that, so I grunted out a perfunctory response, hoping it would satisfy her curiosity.

"Late. Maybe half one?" I wasn't sure, if I was completely honest. Kota had asked me to wait in the infirmary until Dr Green returned, saying that the doctor would check whether I was fine to be released. I had done so, waiting patiently for a good long time. Not that I minded, though, since their current mess was a direct result of my unintentional meddling in their family business. The least I could do was give them my patience and compliance.

"We'd heard you might be coming back last night. We actually waited up for you, but that's a bit late on a school night, even for me," the girl admitted, sounding genuinely apologetic. Despite the fact that I knew I didn't have a hope of correctly recalling her name, I smiled appreciatively back at her. She was, after all, only trying to be nice and, after last night, I should start seeking out new friends wherever I could find them. I was a loner by nature; my life up to this point had pretty much necessitated that but, in just two days – the majority of which I'd spent unconscious – I'd become strangely attached to the idea of having friends of my own. And, since my first, newfound friendships were heading straight for disaster, I decided that I would try my best to make friends elsewhere.

If only I knew how, exactly, one went about finding friends. I'd never done it before. The boys had just sort of swept me up in their day to day without warning and, now that I had to take a more active role, I felt incredibly nervous. What if I was really bad at 'friends'? Oh no, I was going to be bad at 'friends', wasn't I!

My head throbbed again and I winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked me cautiously. I blinked and glanced up to see that she had crossed the room and was peering down at me with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, sorry," I mumbled. "I'm just a bit out of it this morning. Thanks, um..." I trailed off, hoping she might offer me her name.

"It's Bryn. Valkyrie, but you probably already figured that," she added helpfully. She must have seen the relief on my face at her answer because she laughed and added. "I don't mind, Sang. You'll get everyone's names straight eventually."

It was funny; I didn't have any trouble remembering the boys' names, despite the fact that I'd probably spent, on average, more time talking to Bryn or Karen than each of them. It was like my whole being was determined to remember them. I couldn't explain it. I thought I'd probably be able to picture each of their faces, in screaming colour, for the rest of my life.

At the same time, I really hoped that today wouldn't be the last opportunity to rectify the time imbalance either. I needed more time, I screamed inside my head. I need to get to know them. I need to _know_ them!

"Thanks. I appreciate it." I told her honestly. "I'm not feeling well this morning, if I'm being honest, but I'll try to remember in future."

"I'm not surprised!" she exclaimed. "When we heard what happened... Let's just say the Academy rumour mill is in overdrive right now, girl."

She sounded so excited and animated all of a sudden, which instantly caused the smile to fall from my face. Just how much did she know about what had happened? If I stopped to think about it, I guess that I was seriously kidding myself if I thought that the incident would have just blown over in two days. I knew that North's flaming-murder-ball-of-death moments weren't commonplace enough for him to be isolated, hence the argument that day between Masters McCoy and Petros, but they had to be happening regularly enough for the rest of the student body to have known to get out of the way... fast. It was possible that they wouldn't become gossip fodder ordinarily but, this time, there was a new factor at play. Me.

"What did you hear?" I asked with a sigh. The girl in front of me squealed, actually squealed, in delight and began to list off different rumours she'd heard with great gusto and amateur theatrics. I couldn't help but wonder just how fast rumours could spread in an environment like this. I had no other experiences to compare it to since, at my old school, I'd mostly been ignored. You didn't often hear the latest gossip if nobody actually noticed or spoke to you.

"...Then Nyssa said that Greg told North you were cheating on him with Luke, or Nate, or whatever. North totally freaked out, obviously, and tried to kill his brother up with a huge fire ball. There's tape blocking the doorway but Odin swears that you can actually see the scorch mark on the wall where the fire hit, after Luke jumped out of the way." Her crazy story came to an abrupt halt, leaving me stunned into silence and her breathing heavily from not pausing to breathe throughout. She stared at me, eyes wide and expectant, waiting for me to, presumably, confirm or deny the wildly inaccurate rumours.

"Wait, there's a guy who's _actually_ called Odin?" was all I could think to say. Bryn rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly still fully focused on the elaborate, fictitious narrative someone had weaved for her. I couldn't help but wonder how many of these storytellers had actually been in the room at the time, or how the story had been warped through numerous retellings. I headed for the washbasin to wash my face, giving myself something to do while I planned my escape route. Bryn followed eagerly, hopping up to perch on the edge of the neighbouring sink.

"Odin's not his real name," she explained quickly. Her tone told me that this was old news. "His real name is Jeff and he a total creep. Thinks he's... well, Odin's gift to the fairer sex. He's slept his way through half the descendant girls on campus, no matter what age, and word is not all of them were a hundred percent up for it, if you get me. I'd steer clear if I were you."

I did know what she meant. Very well, in fact, since that had been all my step-mother had ever talked about. Seems like, at least when it came to some men, she might have been right after all. I just hoped it wouldn't prove to be true for _all_ men.

"Stay far, far away from creepy Jeff, got it!" I agreed. Wait, by descendant do you mean...?"

"Not a manifest, yeah!" She didn't wait for me to finish. "They normally don't associate with us lowly non-gods, you know? Especially not their royal hotnesses, which is why you, my friend, are now the most talked-about girl on campus. Isn't it awesome?!"

"Awesome," I echoed half-heartedly as my nearly empty stomach threatened to regurgitate whatever was left. This was not happening. This couldn't be happening!

"Totally," Bryn enthused, either not catching or ignoring my lack of joy at the news of my newfound notoriety. The entire school thought I was some... I didn't even know what, since I'd never actually had a single boyfriend, let alone two at the same time. I'd been here less than a week, damn it. I didn't know if I ever wanted a boyfriend if _that_ girl might somehow manage to cheat on him with someone else in the space of a single morning. This was insanity. I needed to set the record straight and hope that Bryn would somehow spread the revised story to the rest of the students.

"It's not true, by the way," I began. I tried, inexperienced in this type of conversation though I was, to introduce the idea subtly, delicately, but Bryn was not having any of it. Her nose crinkled up as she watched me squirm uncomfortably and then she was shaking her head with impatience.

"Spill it, then, Sang. What really happened between you two that got North all hot and heavy?" I didn't know exactly what she meant by that, but I got the general idea. She wasn't going to let me off the hook.

"I barely know North," I told her. At that moment, a petite, blonde girl entered the bathroom and Bryn waved her over quickly.

"You gotta hear this, Jen," Bryn called, her raised voice echoing off the flat, white tiles lining the walls from floor to ceiling. It sounded like there could have been ten people in here, all talking over each other. It was overwhelming and made me want to find a corner to curl up in and disappear. "Carry on!"

"Like I said, I barely know North, or any of them. Gabriel was assigned to be my campus guide..." The two girls snorted with laughter but didn't interrupt further. I decided it was best not to ask. "... and then we talked a bit on the way to homeroom. He introduced me to Luke and I happened to be sat in front of him in class." I left out the part where Luke had invited me to sit together, thinking that it might not help to discourage the rumours of dating already circling. "North arrived, sat behind Luke, then class started. I don't really know what happened next. Someone called Master McCoy..."

"Ugh, he's creepier than Odin!" Bryn interjected, and the other girl nodded.

"Yeah, he's the Vice-President of the Academy. I don't even think President Hendricks actually likes him."

"President?" I asked.

"It's the Academy Board of Directors' fancy way to say principal," Jen explained. That I did understand. "Makes the wealthy parents feel slightly better about not sending their kids to Eton or Andover."

"Well, Master McCoy and Master Petros, my homeroom teacher, got into an argument over where North was supposed to sit and then North just, kind of..." I raised my arms above my head and wiggled my fingers, hoping that the word might come to me eventually.

"Ka-boom?" Bryn asked.

"I guess." That word worked just as well as my unhelpful and brief foray into sign language.

"But why would North freak out over that? McCoy is at his throat every day, pretty much. He's the only person in this place stupid enough to try to get all up on North – unless you count Jade... not that I'd mind giving it a try myself, if he wasn't so... you know?" Bryn licked her lips slowly and I looked away. Something about the gesture made me feel totally uncomfortable.

"Damaged." Jen finished. Bryn nodded in agreement and then they both looked at me, as if waiting for me to agree with them.

"I don't know. He seems sad," I offered. I didn't miss the matching expression that passed over each of their faces for a single moment, but I didn't know what it meant. Was that the wrong thing to say? Did I mess up again? My temple abruptly throbbed again, reminding me just how much I needed to leave and find some painkillers. I was good at dealing with long-term discomfort – I'd had to be, as part of my family – but this was a new level of pain, even for me.

"There has to be something," Bryn urged me, flicking a few scarlet strands of hair over her shoulder. "Think, Sang!"

I turned off the tap my hand was resting on, interrupting a slow dribble of water into the basin below, having completely forgotten why I'd come into this room in the first place.

"I don't know what to tell you guys, I don't know. I think Greg might have said something to North, but..."

"Hey, Sang. Are you in here?"

I grimaced, then quickly turned my head so that the two girls currently watching my every move wouldn't see it. The last thing I wanted right now was another curious Valkyrie ambushing me as I attempted to escape the bathroom. Only moments ago, I'd made the decision to try to be more open to friendships with these girls but, right now, I was seriously regretting that choice. I was a terrible person.

"She's right here," Jen called out to the new arrival, as Karen popped her head eagerly around the bathroom door. When Karen caught sight of the three of us, me hunched over one sink with Bryn draped precariously over another, her face fell slightly.

"Oh, hey girls. Sang, I thought you might have been..." She brightened again, seeming to brush off whatever had previously troubled her. "Never mind. I found you. That's the main thing!"

"You found me. How can I help?" From my experiences so far, where Bryn revelled in theatrics and drama, Karen tended to be much more direct and thoughtful. I had found myself being drawn to her over the others from her dorm that first morning at breakfast, and my opinion of her hadn't changed while I'd been an absentee dorm mate. Maybe, I thought to myself, she could be someone I might be able to become friends with. I at least owed it to myself to try.

"There's someone here to see you."

I tugged at my thin cotton shirt irritably as I descended the last flight of stairs to reach the main lobby. Karen had refused to tell me more about why I'd been summoned downstairs to the entryway other than to repeat what she'd already told me. Apparently. I had a visitor.

There were only a handful of people who I would actually be pleased to see this morning, especially since everyone else I'd met was currently upstairs getting dressed or showered. I had perked up temporarily at the prospect of finding Gabriel, or even Luke, had come to visit me, and had showered and dressed in record time. Then, as I was pulling on a fresh pair of socks out of my trunk, the reality had crashed down upon me. I knew nothing about these people, didn't mean anything to them, so why would I get a visit from any one of them at – I glanced down at my watch and nearly lost my footing on the stairs – seven thirty in the morning.

"There she is," I heard Karen say, as I rounded the corner and noticed her standing by the sign-in desk with tall figure who had his back to me. I ground to a halt as I noticed the mess of sandy blond curls and then Dr Green turned to face me. His face lit up with an infectious, gleeful grin when he spotted me, and I returned it with a wide, toothy smile of my own.

"Hey there, Miss Sang."

"Hi," I said. "Why did you need to speak to me? Did something happen?" I glanced over at Karen, who was watching our exchange with a quizzical look on her face. She stared at the doctor, then back at me a few times before she finally noticed that I was watching her while she was watching us.

"Sorry," she blurted out, then scratched at her cheek and flushed. "I didn't mean to stare. I'll just be over... I'll, um... Well, bye. It was nice to meet you, Sir." Karen hurried away from us, shaking her head and muttering quietly to herself. She seemed a little starstruck, which only served to remind me that the man beside me, just like his brothers, must also be a god – or manifest, to use the accepted terminology.

"So is it Doctor or Sir?" I asked playfully, all of my previous irritation and discomfort dying away in the blink of an eye. It wouldn't be until much later, looking back on this conversation as the pivotal moment it would become, that I'd realise how incredibly quickly I'd been put at ease by his mere presence. Sure, my head still ached and I had a two day-old, still smarting bruise on my hip bone, but my soul was steady as a rock in a storm. I didn't have a care in the world, no task or desire other than to simply be, right here and right now.

"How about just Sean?" he offered. He held out a hand to me, attempting and failing to contort his grin into something suitably serious. "Let's start over. Hi, Miss Sang. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sean Green, and I would adore you if you'd call me Sean."

"Okay, Just Sean," I agreed. "No medical degrees here, right?"

"Right. I get enough of that from the boys." He rolled his eyes before fixing me with an intense gaze. "Although, if we're on the subject of medical degrees, you were wondering why I'm here."

"A bit, yeah," I admitted, pressing a finger to my lips. I pushed my lower lip into my mouth and bit down on it gently, tilting my head to the side and watching Sean as he focused in on my movement. I wondered if I had something – toothpaste, maybe – on my face because, for a few moments, he didn't say a word. Then I opened my mouth to ask if something was wrong, or if I should go and check a mirror for assorted viscera, and he seemed to remember our conversation all of a sudden.

"Right! Well, Sang, I need you to explain to me why you weren't entirely honest with me last night."

"I..." I stopped. I didn't have any idea what he was talking about, unless... There was no way he could know that I was in pain still, was there? I knew he possessed god-like healing abilities but, still, that was a far cry from being psychic.

"How's the head?" he asked wryly.

"Um." I gave myself a small, sarcastic round of applause in my imagination. Well done, Sang. Very eloquent this morning, aren't we? "How did you know?"

"Victor told me," Sean said casually. Who? I must have looked completely clueless then, because he hurriedly added. "Victor is one of my brothers too but, I'm guessing from your reaction, not one you've actually met yet." I remembered Gabriel telling me that there were nine of them – at least, I thought it was nine – but to actually try to consider that many people at once was a challenge. I thought I had the five I'd met so far pretty compartmentalised in my head but if, by chance, I were to meet the others, I wasn't sure how well my perpetually lonely mind would hold up.

"No, I haven't. How did he know?" If I hadn't met him and Kota was right, that something weird was happening when I touched them, how could Victor possibly be involved too?

"Victor does, on rare occasion, manifest some small gifting for telepathic perception."

"You mean like mind reading?" That was the last thing I'd expected. As far as I was aware, I'd never been anywhere near this Victor. If I had and hadn't realised it, I certainly hadn't made contact with him skin to skin.

"Kind of. Very surface level stuff though and, as I said, extremely rarely. That is, until this morning. Say, Sang, what time did you wake up this morning, do you reckon?"

"Maybe around six or six fifteen?" I hedged. I wasn't sure exactly but I knew it had to be somewhere in that timeframe because I'd been out of bed in search of an, as yet elusive aspirin by half past the hour.

"I'd wager that you woke up some time before that, Sang." Sean told me firmly. "And don't worry, I'm not like Kota or Owen. I like breaking rules sometimes. I'll explain." I was still confused, and I didn't have any idea who Owen might be, but I waited for him to elaborate on his seemingly preposterous theory.

"I met up with Victor at a few minutes to six this morning to take over our duties on the perimeter." I started to ask the obvious, but he cut me off with a sad smile. "I can't explain that. You'd need to ask Kota. Anyway, we were just starting out on our way up to the sentry post when Victor bumped into me. Next thing I know, he's clutching his head and moaning about making the pain go away. He said he felt you, through me, and could sense your pain."

"I'm not sure I understand," I explained. Sean nodded in agreement, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Neither do I, but I have my suspicions. I'm an empath; it goes hand in hand with healing and helps me to identify internal injuries and pain in my patients, but I can't sustain the ability once I break physical contact. In theory, if it was more reliable, Victor wouldn't have that restriction, provided the person was awake. I believe that, when Victor and I made contact earlier, Victor somehow _borrowed_ my gift for empathy for a moment and connected with your conscious mind."

"How is that possible?" None of this made any sense. Why would all of this have anything to do with me? At seventeen years old, I had never exhibited signs of any abilities at all out of the ordinary, and I still hadn't, unless I counted somehow escaping being burned to death. This all had to be some kind of cosmic joke; the gods playing a hilarious prank on a stupid human who had no-one left to turn to, nowhere else to go, no further to fall.

"Ah. That's where I come up stumped," Sean muttered, only half talking to me. I suspected that his mind was going in a hundred different directions right now, just like mine, trying to make sense of this mess. "We're going to find out though, Sang. I promise."

"Okay," I agreed. I added this new development to the bottom of a long list of questions I was going to deliver to Kota in triplicate, after he figured out and fixed whatever this was. It would be impossible for me to just walk away now; not without knowing the truth.

"Now that's all said and done, Miss Sang, would you like me to fix that head of yours? And the bruising too?" He wiggled his long fingers playfully in front of his face, grinning again. I didn't even ask how he knew about the hip. I'd have to pass on my thanks to Victor later, if I ever got to meet him in person.

Sean winked at me and I couldn't help but giggle, my mood flipping on a dime once again. He really knew how to cheer me up, I thought to myself. I didn't even know that secret myself, but Dr Sean Green had, in less than a day, unlocked the mystery and flung it wide open. He had me wrapped inextricably around his little finger and he didn't even know it.

I had barely dumped my tray down onto the long, wooden table belonging to the Valkyries when I felt Karen nudge my arm from behind and lean down to make herself heard over the loud din in the cafeteria. The room was much louder this morning than two mornings ago, when I'd first set foot inside. A quick glance around, noticing almost instantly that every eye in the room was fixed on the three boys huddled around one end of the central table, was enough to confirm my suspicions. Right then, I would have bet all three dollars currently in my trunk in the Valkyrie dorm that every single conversation currently being held in this room was about just one topic.

"Hide me!" I'd hissed at Karen on arrival, as a boy walking past had nearly tripped over a trash can after catching my eye. He'd done an honest to goodness, real-life double take, like the kind only ever seen in newspaper comic strips or old cartoons, and then had been unable to look away. My hopes for an uneventful meal had slipped away in an instant, and we had only made it ten feet inside.

"I wouldn't bother sitting down, Sang," Karen bellowed straight into my ear canal. I shuddered slightly as the volume caused an unpleasant tingling in my eardrum, then abandoned my efforts to pull my chair from under the table.

"Why not?" I turned my head so I could lean in close enough to let her hear me. She didn't say a word and, instead, just pointed towards the middle of the room.

When we had arrived Luke had been sitting with his back to the Valkyrie table, hunched over a heaped tray of food and ignoring everyone around him, including Gabriel to his left and North opposite. Instead, he was now perched on the edge of the table, one foot propped up on his chair, staring straight at us. And, by us, I mean me.

When he saw that I was looking, he raised a hand from where it was resting on his knee and started to wave at me. He continued to wave like a crazy person, while I stood there like an idiot, a small smile spreading across my face at his enthusiastic attempt to attract my attention. A face framed with dark hair peered out from behind Luke briefly, as North tried to see what his brother was doing, before he rolled his eyes, muttered something to Gabriel and went back to his breakfast. Luke continued to wave.

"You should go," Karen told me, shoving my abandoned tray into my hands and nudging me away from the table, towards Luke. He was still waving and, for whatever reason, Gabriel chose that moment to twist around in his seat and join in. They showed no signs of stopping so I sighed, resigned myself to the uncomfortable scrutiny that I was undoubtedly about to receive, and started to traipse my way down the rows of tables towards the centre.

"How's your head?" Gabriel asked me, after I'd dumped my tray next to North's and sunk into the seat opposite Gabriel. I noticed that the volume level in the room bottomed out and hit absolutely zero as my butt hit plastic but the boys didn't react, so I tried not to let it bother me. I could feel eyes on the back of my neck and it made me want to squirm or run away, but I forced myself to remain calm and relaxed. I was determined not to let these guys see how shaken I was by the rumours I knew were flying around the school.

"Better," I admitted sheepishly. Dr Green had warned me that everyone in the family had been made aware of my little untruth, but it was still mortifying. I hated the fact that, just because I had wanted to spare them the trouble, I'd instead demonstrated an uncharacteristic propensity for telling lies. I wanted to explain, to make sure they knew that I wasn't a liar, but I was afraid to make it worse. For every one step forward in this place, I always seemed to then trip over and get left behind with the very next step. I should really just start keeping quiet.

"That's good," Luke chimed in, leaning over towards Gabriel to steal a fried potato off his plate. It didn't really fit with his pancakes and maple syrup but it wasn't as weird as North's food.

"What is that?" I asked him, pointing towards the unidentifiable mush piled high in a bowl in front of him. He chased a squishy, cream-coloured glob around the bowl a few times with his spoon, before throwing the spoon down in apparent frustration and lifting his eyes from the bowl to mine. He didn't say anything, just gazed hard into me, like I was a riddle he was no closer to solving.

"It's bran and mashed banana," Gabriel explained, wrinkling his nose up as he spoke the words. "North has a bit of a thing for healthy eating. Waste of time if you ask me." As if to demonstrate just how much time North might be wasting, Gabriel chose that moment to take a huge bite of a blueberry muffin and groaned melodramatically.

"I concur," Luke agreed, shovelling another mouthful of pancake into his face. "I'd eat chocolate for breakfast if the kitchen staff let me. In fact, nothing beats a great chocolate chip pancake in the morning... or the afternoon... or the..."

"I'll understand if you hate me for what I did." North spoke quietly, slowly. I froze, my spoonful of yogurt suspended in air, as I processed his words. I glanced over at the others quickly, just to check that he was definitely talking to me, then frowned. I was, yet again, blindsided by the unfathomable phenomenon that was North Taylor's psyche.

"Why would I ever hate you?" I turned to face him, giving him my full attention. "You couldn't help what happened. You don't even remember most of it. It's not your fault." I flashed him a hesitant smile and felt my heart squeeze as he returned it reluctantly. "If anything, it's my fault for rushing in."

"No!" North sounded more like himself now, leaning forward to grip me firmly by the sleeves of my shirt. "It's never your fault. You saved Luke and Master Petros and half the building that day, Sang. You're a saint and I'm... I'm cursed." He released me and started to reach for my hand, clenched up on the table top next to his tray.

"North, don't!" Luke barked and North blinked in surprise, looking down at his outstretched hand like he'd never seen it before in his life. He flexed his fingers a couple of times then dropped his hands back into his lap.

"I don't know why I did that. I wasn't thinking..."

"It's okay," I reassured him gently. "Nothing seems to make sense at the moment, right?" It was meant as a rhetorical question mostly but, as I looked around at Luke and Gabriel, they shared a secretive, guilty look before they could hide their emotions.

"You guys know something, don't you?!" I raised an accusatory finger and pointed at each of them in turn. They tried to look clueless but I wasn't fooled. Kota might be holding out on me until he was sure, but I was so desperate for answers that I'd take any clue I could get. "Please?" I wasn't above begging, although I was pretty sure it wasn't going to work.

"Damn it, Sang, you only need to ask," Gabriel groaned, as I fixed him with my best impression of what I thought was called puppy-dog eyes. I'd seen my sister do it to my father a few times and he'd seemed to respond to it, but my success surprised me. I hadn't really expected it to work.

"Maybe I should just show her," Luke suggested. North grunted at his brother, scowling in displeasure, but didn't try to stop him when he reached into his pocket and pulled a small, crumpled blue object out.

Luke placed the butterfly carefully onto the tray in front of me. I lifted my untouched bowl off the tray and pushed it aside, pulling the tray towards me so I could examine the creature up close. The vivid blues and iridescent green hues that textured the delicate wings were punctured in several places where the fragile membrane had been twisted and crushed out of shape. I felt a shocked gasp escape me as I recognised the patterning from Luke's beautiful homeroom illusion two days earlier. Why would he create such an awful illusion for me now?

I reached out to stroke it carefully, becoming increasingly horrified when I realised that it felt solid beneath my fingertips. So, if it wasn't an illusion, what was it? Why would Luke destroy a butterfly so cruelly, just to remind me of something I'd never be able to forget?

"I-I don't understand!" I whispered. I didn't think Luke would be able to hear me over the steady hum of noise that was now beginning to creep back up in volume, now that it was clear Luke and North weren't likely to fight to the death over me or anything. "I thought it wasn't real."

"It wasn't, Sang," Luke agreed. "I can't make tangible illusions."

"Then how...?"

"You!" North growled. "Somehow, you must have done something to change his powers. Master B thinks he might have some ideas but, if he does, he's not sharing yet."

"I grabbed your hand," I muttered, thinking back to the incident with Greg.

"What?" Gabriel asked, leaning in to catch what I had to say.

"I touched him! I touched him!" Just before Greg had interrupted us so aggressively, slamming his textbook down onto the desk, I'd grabbed hold of Luke's hand. I couldn't remember, or even imagine why I'd done such a thing, but I could distinctly remember my fingers curling around his knuckles as we watched the illusion he'd created.

"You did!" Luke blurted out, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Mr B asked me last night if I could remember anything that could have triggered it, anything you'd done that was out of the ordinary. I can't believe I forgot!"

He shoved his hand into his other jacket pocket and pulled out a shiny, black phone. He stabbed and swiped at the large screen for a few moments, before starting to tap furiously. I didn't know how that type of phone worked but, if I had to guess, I would have said he was sending someone a very detailed message. He tapped for a few more seconds, then slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Sorry," Luke said with an apologetic smile in my direction. "You had questions?"

"Just a few..." I muttered sarcastically and Gabriel chuckled softly. I thought for a moment, then chose my next words carefully. "So this is the butterfly from homeroom?" I paused. "Why is it so...?"

"Greg." Luke snapped, distaste lacing his words. "I really can't stand that guy!"

"The book." I finally put two and two together and came up with something other than seventeen. Greg had to have crushed the poor thing when he'd dropped the book on it. Not that he would have known he was killing a living creature, although I doubted that would have made him think twice. His intention had been only to break Luke's concentration, thus breaking the illusion. Instead, he had caused so much more damage. I glanced back down at the butterfly. It was still beautiful, even now. It broke my heart to see it so utterly destroyed.

"I'll put it away," Luke said quickly, and I realised that my upset must have showed on my face as I stared down at my tray. He scooped it up with cupped hands and slid it carefully back into his pocket. I sniffed back a tear and looked up at the three boys who were now all watching me intently.

"I guess I still don't understand why Kota was so worried about that," I admitted. As long as Greg didn't interrupt next time, if Luke actually wanted there to be a next time, I couldn't see why we would run the risks Kota had been so worried about.

"Think about it, Sang," Gabriel spoke first. I gave him my full attention and noticed the very tips of his ears flush pink under my gaze. "What if it wasn't a butterfly? You said you lost control of the illusion for some reason, right Luke?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't sure why until just now, but I think it was when you touched me. The butterfly stayed on the table just long enough to become target practice for Greg, but I wasn't holding it there. It could easily have flown away."

"Imagine that butterfly had been a tiger," Gabriel took over again, glancing over at his brother with a knowing frown. "Luke has... I mean, we've all seen some pretty scary things over the years here, Sang. Luke can fabricate almost anything he can think of. What if all the worst dreams inside that pretty little head of his suddenly appeared, in the flesh, in the middle of a classroom?" He glanced over at North. "Or worse, what if it had been Silas or North who lost focus? Even a second could be a disaster."

"Oh," was all I could muster. A series of my worst nightmares from childhood paraded themselves through my mind as I pondered his words. I instinctively scooted back into my seat, putting as much distance as possible between myself and Luke. It finally made sense to me and, immediately, I really wished that I was still ignorant.

"And there the penny goes," North muttered darkly. I saw Luke smile sadly at me and I folded my hands firmly under my armpits, arms pinned tightly to my chest. On Kota's request, I'd worn a long sleeved shirt today, but now I was going to be paranoid of accidently touching anyone ever again.

"Is it just your family, or do I need to stay away from everyone?" I queried, my heart beating fast to match my panicky breathing. I tried desperately to remember if I'd touched Bryn, or Jen, or Karen this morning. What about the girls I'd passed in the hallway? Surely I'd accidently brushed past one of them between my room and the lobby, or while I'd been puttering round the bathroom getting ready. What was I going to do?

"We can't really know for sure right now, Sang, but we think it's just us." North sounded so confident, so sure of his words that I felt myself relax just a little. I was still terrified of hurting someone, but the reassurance helped.

"We won't let anything happen, Trouble," Gabriel told me, patting the table in front of me. I think he meant it to be comforting. "We just need to be careful, that's all!"

"Careful?" I squeaked. I sounded high-pitched and tense, not like my voice at all. I forced myself to try to calm down enough to not embarrass myself. I took a slow, deep breath in and then out a few times, in an attempt to slow my thundering heartbeat. "You guys should just stay away from me."

"Do you want that?" Luke asked me softly. He ducked his head to force me to look him in the eyes. "If that's what you really want, we'll leave you alone."

"Like hell we will..." Gabriel started to blurt out, but Luke laid a hand on his shoulder and he fell silent again.

"If that's what you truly want, Sang." His voice was shaky now, but he cleared his throat with a shallow cough and continued. "We will honour your wishes, despite whatever our own opinion might be." He glared at Gabriel and I saw the other boy sag in defeat.

"Right," he agreed reluctantly. My heart sang with the thought that Gabriel wanted me around that much, even if I didn't really understand why, but I knew I had to make an important choice. A life changing choice.

"What do you want, Sang baby?" North asked softly, then silence descended upon the table. The rest of the room, all the background noise and bustle of other students walking by or calling out to friends, faded away into the background, leaving the four of us suspended in a bubble, frozen in time as the three of them waited for me to make a decision.

On the one hand, I really enjoyed spending time with each of them. Kota and Sean too. I had no doubt that, upon meeting their brothers, perhaps with the exception of the scary sounding Master Blackbourne, I'd quickly grow to like them too. I felt, in some intangible, unfathomable way, like I already did know each and every one of them. It was like, by simply knowing North, Luke, Gabriel, Kota and Sean in some small way, I had a connection to the other four by extension. I didn't know if it would be true, but I got the feeling that I'd recognise the others on sight now. I made my whole body hum with happiness and warmth to think about and I couldn't bear the thought of never getting to know each of them, or never seeing any of them again.

On the other hand, I was toxic for them. They had survived together as a family unit for years before I'd arrived and, in less than a week, I'd started to tear them apart. I'd already caused enough incidents and issues for them, without adding in the new threats and troubles that Kota had warned me about. They would be so much better off without me in their lives, so much safer as a family, and I needed to let them go.

If I was strong enough, I'd walk away. I'd leave right now and never look back.

I sighed, looking around at each of their faces in turn. Luke, so joyful and patient; Gabriel, so hopeful and expectant; North, his expression unfathomable and stoic. I knew exactly which outcome I was going to choose. I had probably know before they had posed the question.

I was weak. I wasn't strong enough to make the right choice.

"I want to stay with you," I whispered. There was no choice. For a second I wasn't sure I'd said it loud enough, but then Gabriel's face split into an ear to ear grin. Luke was slower to react, but he quickly followed suit. North was much more subdued, the acknowledgement much less animated, but he gave me a small smile when I caught his eye.

"Of course you do!" Gabriel exclaimed and I let out a huge gust of air that I hadn't realised I was holding in. At his words, the outside world came crashing back in around us in a deafening tidal wave of sound, and I let out a shaky laugh. Then the moment was over and the conversation moved on immediately, as if it had never taken place at all.

"So what do you want to do today?" Luke asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after your last attempt at school, the whole family has the day off today. Kota told us to keep you out of trouble but, other than that..." He looked to Gabriel for inspiration. My eyes widened as he seemed to include me when he spoke about his family, but I tried not to read too much into it. It was just a slip of the tongue, right?

"Yeah, I don't remember him saying anything about what kind of trouble." Gabriel had a devious twinkle in his eye. "He was just talking about blowing stuff up, right?"

"Right!" Luke agreed. "So I say again, what do you wanna do?"

Just then, North pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed it to his ear. He covered the other ear with his free hand, trying to block out some of the background noise and scrunched up his forehead in concentration. No one spoke as we watched him.

"Yes, Sir." North spoke into the phone after a few moments of intense silence, then nodded to no one in particular. "I'll be right there." He tapped the phone to end the call and pushed his chair out from under the table, standing up and shoving his phone deep into the back pocket of his jeans.

"I need to go," North announced perfunctorily, already tucking his chair in and picking up his unfinished mush on a tray. "Perimeter alert."

Luke's eyebrows shot up in surprise at his words and the two shared a silent conversation, before Luke turned to Gabriel to whisper something in his ear. I stared up at North, curious and confused, but he just curled his top lip apologetically and shrug.

"Ask Kota?" I sighed.

"Sorry," came the response, then he was striding down the central aisle toward the exit. He paused just before he reached the tray disposal area, to one side of the double doors of the entryway, turning to look back at us.

"Behave," he mouthed and Luke saluted him with a wink. North rolled his eyes at us and I could imagine the disgruntled grunt he wouldn't be able to avoid. He flipped Luke the bird, then stalked grumpily out of the large room. A couple of alarmed-looking students scattered out of his way as he stomped through the door, shoving it aside irritably, then he was gone.

"Now that we no longer have a chaperone, let's go do something fun!" Luke nudged Gabriel, who in turn elbowed him back playfully, hard enough to cause Luke to rub his arm with a wince and a smile.

"I have an idea." Gabriel said quickly. "Let's go!"

"Are we supposed to be in here?" I whispered as we stepped inside the low building on the edge of campus. The sign outside had declared it to be the Art Studio, but all I could see from the doorway was a vast, black emptiness with a few scattered splashes of shadowy grey.

"I have a key, don't I?" Gabriel told me gleefully, jangling said key at me as he slipped past Luke and disappeared into the darkness. Seconds later he must have flipped a switch along the nearest wall, because the room was instantly flooded with bright, artificial light from a number of neon strips spread along the ceiling. The one above my head flickered pathetically a few times as I watched it, before finally giving up and going out. It cast a strange shadow in the entryway, so I moved further into the large, open plan room.

It was definitely an art studio, even if I wasn't intimately familiar with the construct. I was useless at art and had never had the need or desire to go in one before, but Gabriel was insistent that I would love it in here. He said it would be a surprise, which had filled me with a fluttery, nervous sensation, but I'd followed him and Luke anyway.

"Over here." Luke beckoned me over to where he was standing, in the shadow of a vast, wooden easel. As I crossed the floor quickly towards him, zigzagging through assorted benches, easels and artwork in varying stages of completion, Gabriel ducked inside a door I hadn't noticed yet, at the far end of the room. When he came back out, he was carrying an equally huge, white canvas, which he dragged over to where Luke was waiting.

"Help me?" Gabriel grunted, hefting one side of the heavy-looking canvas into the air. Luke bent down to hook his fingers around the opposite side and, between the two of them, they slotted it into place on the easel.

"What are we doing?" I asked curiously. Whilst I was more than happy just to spend a day wondering campus and getting to know my new friends, I wasn't sure why Gabriel would be quite so excited about painting, even if that was something he did a lot, but I'd go along with anything if it would make them happy.

"You want to get to know us, right?" Gabriel questioned.

"Of course." It wasn't a question he ever needed to ask.

"Well, you've seen what Luke can do and you've definitely seen one of North's more dramatic abilities."

"One of them? There are more?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't imagine what else North was capable of. My curiosity was immediately piqued. "What else can he do?"

"I'll let him tell you himself, when he's ready." Gabriel picked up a paintbrush that had been left behind on the easel, twirling it effortlessly between his slender fingers as he spoke. "Me on the other hand. Would you like me to show you?"

"Yes!" He blew out a breath and grinned, as if in relief. It was like he'd half expected me to say no. How could he even think that way? I was no less curious about his powers than his brothers, no matter what they were. "You're the only one so far that has told me what god or goddess you got them from, so you're one step ahead in my book." I meant it. I felt like I knew more about Gabriel than any of the others at this point, though I hoped that one day I'd know them each equally well.

"Oh!" Luke exclaimed from behind Gabriel. He stepped around to the other side of the easel so I could see them both. "Norse god Loki here, if you're interested. Natural born trickster. I'm also really, really sneaky."

"Good to know," I told him. In truth, he could have said Cthulhu and I would have just accepted it, no questions asked. I was so beyond impressed that it was cognitive overload when they actually tried to impress me. "What did you want to show me, Gabriel?"

"Just watch," he told me with a wink. "Luke, give me something to work with."

"What's your favourite flower, Sang?"

"Um, I like Chrysler Imperial Roses, I guess." I wasn't sure why that was relevant, but I answered truthfully. Luke pulled out his phone, pulled up a photo and held it up for me to look at.

"This one?"

"That's the one," I confirmed, as Luke held a hand outstretched and crooked his finger like he'd done in homeroom the other day. An exact replica of the stunning red rose from the picture on his phone screen appeared in the air, suspended above his palm like it was hanging from invisible strings from the ceiling.

"Colour okay?" Gabriel asked me and I just nodded, speechless. I didn't know what he was about to do but I was already in awe watching Luke at work. Whatever came next would just be an extra bonus prize. "Here we go."

Gabriel took a deep, calm breath, glanced over at the rose Luke had created one more time, then closed his eyes. He pressed a single index finger against the centre of the canvas and then paused. I watched with bated breath as he shuddered gently, then began to exhale slowly. The canvas began to flex and rile beneath his finger, rippling out from the epicentre he'd created. As the wave crept outward, the fabric began to change as his power met each individual strand and stitch. They changed in colour, shape and texture before my eyes and I watched, awestruck once more, as the illusory red rose came to life on the canvas in front of us.

"Damn it," Luke muttered, shattering the silence as the floating rose blinked out of existence. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped away to take a call. Gabriel's eyes fluttered open as he became aware of the disruption, but he didn't appear to have been disturbed in his task. There on the previously white canvas before him, was an exquisite reconstruction of the rose from the picture. It was as precise and utterly lifelike as a photograph but with the unique quality that could only come from the hands of a master painter. It was the best piece of art I had ever seen in my life, and I couldn't quite believe what I'd just witnessed.

"Come and look," Gabriel urged me, and I stepped forward with a strange mix of hesitancy and giddy anticipation. I couldn't wait to see just how he'd managed to create something like that with no paint or brushes but, at the same time, it was so perfect. I really didn't want to ruin it or taint it in some way. I had a way of damaging things and this was just too good to risk.

"He won't bite!" Luke joked as he re-joined us, phone nowhere to be seen. "That was North. False alarm up at the gate. He's going to meet us here in five."

"Cool," Gabriel said dismissively, before turning his attention back on me. "Now come on, Trouble. I really won't bite."

I smiled at him to let him know that I wasn't avoiding him. Not like that, at least. I stepped up beside him and bent over to take a closer look. I forced myself to stop just shy of actually letting my nose brush against it, since I figured Gabriel wouldn't want my germs all over his masterpiece, but I wanted to peruse every inch in detail.

"There's no paint on this, is there?" I asked after a few minutes of examination. I was no expert, but it looked to me like the fabric itself had actually changed colour. There was also something odd about the texture of the once smooth, tightly woven fabric. I reached out a hand and let it hover over the surface. "Can I?"

"Go ahead," Gabriel offered, leaning against a nearby bench and watching as I enjoyed his work. He seemed genuinely thrilled that I was taking such an interest in it, so I never wanted to stop. I wanted him to keep looking at me like that forever, the contented smile and relaxed posture. I finally felt like I'd done something right and I never wanted this moment to end.

I brushed my finger gently over one silky-looking petal and gasped. Although the canvas was still just that – a canvas – there was an odd, iridescent sheen to the red petals and a suitably waxy one to the deep green stem and leaves. Beneath my touch the canvas seemed to take on the exact textures of the real rose, just how I remembered it from a brief trip to the florist's shop in town with my father when I was young. With my hand against the canvas right now, I could feel myself being transported straight back to that day, wandering slowly round the store stroking flower petals until my father had found what he was looking for and we'd gone home. That was the only time, to my knowledge, he'd ever been into a florist to buy a gift for my step-mother and I wondered if, now that he was with someone new, he would ever buy her flowers. I hoped he would, and I hoped that, whoever she was, they would make her smile.

"That's amazing," I breathed, looking up to see Gabriel grinning down at me. I stepped back in a hurry as I realised how close he was, having expected him to be over by the bench, and I tripped over something solid on the ground behind me.

I yelped in surprise as I felt myself pitching backwards into empty space, reaching out instinctually to find something to grab to break my fall.

"Woah!" Gabriel shouted, reaching for me with one hand. Our palms connected, slapping together and groping in panic for a split second as he tried to stop me from slipping through his fingers. In slow motion, his fingers closed around me as he grabbed for the corner of the heavy canvas to steady himself.

"No!" North's voice echoed around the room, ricocheting through my brain like a bullet, but it was too late. I felt a burst of power ripple out from where our hands met and then my vision went black.

"Sang, can you hear me?" Gabriel's panicked voice pulled me up out of the cloying darkness and my eyes snapped open. I was sitting on the floor of the art studio, propped up against something that felt like the leg of the easel. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog that had settled over my mind.

"Sang baby?" There was North's voice. He sounded close by too. And he'd called me baby. That was sweet of him, I thought, but I wasn't a baby. I was seventeen years old.

"How long was I out?" I mumbled. I wasn't sure how coherent I sounded. I didn't have a splitting headache this time, which was good but I was still a little hazy on the details of what had just happened. I could remember falling and grabbing for Gabriel, but then nothing.

"Less than a minute," Luke told me, his striking face swimming slowly into view as my vision cleared.

"That's good," I said, my voice sounding stronger to my ears already. "What happened?"

"Well," Gabriel said hesitantly. "I guess we just found out what happens when I lose focus around you."

"What!" I stammered, pushing myself up off the ground in a hurry. "Did I hurt anyone?" I could see clearly now and looked around for any damage I might be, once again, responsible for. I blinked again as I surveyed the room. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Did I do that?" I asked breathlessly. Luke chuckled behind me and I spun to face him, mouth agape.

Haloing out from the spot where I stood, the hardwood floor was now stained a blinding, riotous hot pink. It spread across the entire room as I tracked just one part of it, trailing up the walls and even bleeding into the white ceiling tiles in places. As I followed the trail of chaos we'd wrought, I noticed one by one that each and every canvas, bench, easel and flat surface in the entire room was now splashed with spots of pink, in an astounding range of hues. There was nothing untouched. Everything that caught my eye was now somewhat pink.

"Oops!" I whispered, turning to Gabriel. He was still staring, wide eyed at my reactions to everything but he was smiling.

"You can say that again, Sang!" North grumbled. I turned to him, already moulding my features into a suitably apologetic masquerade. I tried really hard not to smile but I could feel my mask cracking as I noticed new shades of fuchsia and peach everywhere I looked. I loved pink!

I froze as I caught sight of North's face. I went completely rigid, unable to move a muscle, and then burst into hysterics on the spot.

"Hey! What?" North shouted, whipping his head around to look over his shoulder.

"Oh God!" I gasped between belly laughs. I thought my stomach would never stop hurting, I was laughing so hard.

"What!?" North bellowed, looking to his brothers for an answer. They were far too busy cracking up, having finally noticed what I had.

North huffed in irritation and stopped over to the far wall, where a small mirror hung over a newly pink wash basin. He crouched down low, shoving his face in front of the mirror. The three of us exchanged looks of pure joy as we waited, unconcerned for the moment of any potential repercussions, for North to figure it out.

"Gabriel!" North bellowed, slamming his fists down onto the edges of the basin. I sobered up a little, worried that he might break it or do something rash, but he just turned and fixed Gabriel with a fierce glare. "I'm going to kill you! Fix this right now!"

He stormed across the room, flinging aside objects in his way like the easels were toothpicks and the benches were matches. Gabriel was already running before he made it ten paces, then North was chasing after him. They were out of the door and gone before I had time to process what had just happened.

"He's not going to actually kill him, is he?" I asked Luke, who was still chuckling to himself.

"Probably not," he shrugged. "Did you see...?" He broke off, unable to finish. I nodded, equally incapable of stringing together a coherent sentence. North was now the owner of a single, bright pink eyebrow, and I could not be happier. It was the happiest, most carefree I thought I'd ever been in my life, and I was in heaven.

"What's going on, Luke?" Luke and I turned simultaneously to greet the new arrival. He was cast in the partial shadow of the broken light, but I could tell that he was tall. Very tall. Perhaps even taller than North.

"Hey Silas."


	8. Chapter 8: Past, Present and Future

~A~

"This is useless! I've found precisely nothing." Sean let the huge, ancient tome slip from his aching fingers, crashing down onto the solid, oak desk with a dull thud. He shoved a hand through his wavy, blond hair, pushing a few stray strands away out of his eyes forcefully, before slumping back into the stiff-backed armchair with a frustrated sigh. "How long have we been at this?"

"You, Dr Green, set foot in my office less than one hour ago" an equally frustrated male voice replied, its owner hidden from view behind multiple vast bookshelves bulging with thick reference journals and dusty historical texts. Sean gazed wearily in the direction of sound, imaging the indignant look on his friend's face as he deigned to answer yet another of his inevitably irritating questions.

"Sorry, brother," he replied quickly, eager to appease his uncharacteristically discontented friend and colleague. Sean only merited the use of the formal honorific when the other man was feeling particularly vexed, like today. He was normally the epitome of cool, calm and collected – after all, he had to be – but it was easy to see the reason for his frustration. Dozens of haphazard stacks of books, large and small, old and new, littered the plush, carpeted floor in uneven stacks, each a testament to the tireless efforts of the man. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Ha!" came the response, followed by the unmistakable sounds of rustling paper and crashing stacks that had permeated the silence at least three times since Sean's arrival. "Damn it!" More crashing echoed through the otherwise still office, then head and shoulders emerged from behind a nearby bookcase. "This is a disaster!"

"Take a break," I suggested, hoping that he wouldn't take it the wrong way. I knew that, even as frustrated as he was, he had a vice-like hold on his emotions, but I couldn't help but worry about him sometimes. He shouldered such a heavy burden now, facing each and every day with a disposition that left me in a perpetual state of awe, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before he gave in to his nature and it destroyed him. Until that happened, I resolved that I would do everything in my power to save him, even if I had to act as a shield between him and the rest of the world – the boys included.

"I guess, at this point, it makes little difference," Owen Blackbourne admitted, sinking into the chair beside mine with a small groan of discomfort that I didn't think I was supposed to hear. Owen took great care, especially around me, to show no signs of weakness or fatigue in case, heaven forbid, I try to help or heal him. I knew what he thought would happen if I did it too often, but we both knew the truth. I was, for whatever reason, unaffected by his abilities, which was the only reason he allowed himself to be as vulnerable with me as he was at this moment.

"You'll find it," I said, infusing my voice with as much positive feeling as I could muster. I'd admit, if only to myself, that the likelihood of the information we needed being in this room was next to nothing, but Owen needed to hang on to that fading hope for as long as possible. "Just get some sleep and then get back to it. I'll ask again; when was the last time you got any sleep?"

"The night before Miss Sorenson arrived," Owen told me perfunctorily, rolling his eyes when he looked over to see me watching him in surprise. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," I insisted, turning in my seat so that I could fix him with my best 'doctor stare'. "I may be younger than you – and only by a month, I might add – but I _am_ the acting healer in this team. As such, I expect you to listen to me when I tell you to go get some sleep."

"But..." At that moment, in his severely sleep deprived state, I thought that Owen sounded like a small, petulant child. A child, who was highly unlikely to be in full control of his entire consciousness, I reminded myself soberly. I needed to end this, before I allowed Owen to risk the carefully constructed façade he'd spent the last three years fabricating in order to hide the truth. Even our other brothers didn't know everything and Owen had been adamant thus far that, until he could find a way to fix it, they would remain unaware and unaffected.

"But nothing, Master Blackbourne." I decided that, if he could use a formality with me when he was vexed, I would see how he liked it. "You can't read every book in here today, so you may as well just let history continue to write itself while you take a break."

"Wait! What did you just say?" The fresh urgency in Owen's face and the renewed comprehension in his steely gaze surprised me and I simply stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, before his request registered in the numbness of my tired mind. "What did you say!?" He repeated, louder this time.

"I said, you can't read..." I began, but Owen was already leaping up out of his chair and striding purposefully back into the vortex of paper and leather bindings that made up his usually pristine office. "Where are you going?"

"I've been looking in the wrong place, Sean!" came the response, sounding more distant with each passing second. Where could he possibly be going? I knew every inch of this office, yet he sounded like he was a mile underground and descending rapidly. I waited for a few moments, sure that he would return with yet another dead end or false lead, but then there was nothing.

I inched out of my seat, making sure to be extra careful not to disturb any of the books that I had stacked up against my legs and ankles, and made my way into the forest of paper after my agitated brother. There was no sign of him as I peered behind each successive bookcase, until I reached the far end of the relatively compact room and looked around in confusion.

"Where are you, Owen?" I asked tentatively, hoping he was alright. The room had gone deathly silent, like the calm before the oncoming storm, and I hoped fervently that it wouldn't be the kind of storm where people got seriously injured. North had already drawn enough unwanted attention, however unintentional, to our family this week. The last thing we needed was for Owen to have a relapse.

"Got it," came the shout from nowhere and everywhere, as I tried to figure out the direction of the sound, then a head popped up out of the floor less than three paces ahead of me. Owen shoved his arm out of a small hole that I hadn't noticed, thrusting a book in my general direction. I didn't know what he wanted but I knelt, taking the slim, roughly-bound book from his grasp.

"What's down there?" I questioned, as a now slightly dishevelled Owen Blackbourne boosted himself out from the opening and reached down to reach for something inside. Seconds later, he lifted a small, carpeted panel out from inside and fitted it neatly over the hole. It blended effortlessly with the rest of the thick, shag carpet and, before my eyes, the seam disappeared completely.

"It's the restricted section," Owen told me with a rare, wry smile. He got to his feet, far more gracefully than I would have managed, and smartly brushed away a few specks of residual dust. He then smoothed down his suit and checked his cropped brown hair for imperfection – of which there was none, as usual – before reaching for the book in my hands.

I handed it over without question, then stepped forward to look at the space when the man-sized hole had been just moments earlier. Now that I looked closely, I could see a faint, indented outline of the panel, where it could be pulled up and replaced when needed, but I didn't think in a million years that I would have spotted it on my own. I guessed that was the point of a hidden panel.

"This is it!" Owen's exclamation pulled my attention back to him and, reluctantly, away from the mystery storage space beneath the floor. Damn! I loved a good secret hiding place.

"What is?" I asked, noticing that Owen had opened the book to the middle and was reading furiously. He even had a finger hovering over the page, tracing out his place as he read. If he wasn't this close to snapping and unleashing a disaster, I would have taken the opportunity to make fun of him for his childlike enthusiasm for literature and associated mannerisms today. As it was, I decided not to.

"I know what she is," Owen continued, again as if I hadn't spoken. "At least, I believe I do."

"How?" was all I could think to say. With the help of myself, Victor and Kota, arguable the least destructive of our younger brothers, he'd combed through over two thirds of his personal library in approximately three days, searching for any explanation as to why this girl had such a profound effect on our family.

I knew that Owen had entertained his own suspicions from day one, suspicions that I wouldn't have been surprised to find that I shared, but he'd been unusually unforthcoming with his theories. I was the one person he had shared his darkest secret with, but he had refused to talk until he found some evidence to support his ideas.

It wasn't that I doubted his ability to get results when he put his mind to it but, in three days, he'd found not a single scrap of information that might be useful. Hence why, now, I just stared at him in confusion as he grew increasingly animated with each new line of text. I'd not seen him like this since, well... since before.

"I've been looking in the wrong place this whole time," Owen suddenly announced, before going on to explain. "I thought that she was New World but, if this is to be believed, she could be the missing link to the Old World."

"Old World?" I said incredulously. I had expected him to confirm her deity – I'd only needed to be in her presence for a heartbeat to be certain of that – but I hadn't expected anything like this. If Owen was right, we were all in deep trouble.

"I believe so," he agreed, looking up at me for the first time since he'd reappeared with this new tome clutched in his hands. "Do you see what this means, Sean?" The hope in his tone was palpable and thick.

"It's bad, isn't it...?" I mumbled, and I watched Owen's words darken at my words. His face fell and I felt a pang of guilt stab its way into my gut. I knew why he was so hopeful, so desperate for this to be true for his sake, but we needed to consider the truth in its entirety. This had the potential to be catastrophic, for the whole world. Just because it meant redemption for my dearest friend didn't negate the very real danger.

"Yes, we need to be aware of the potential threat," he agreed solemnly, nodding once before squaring his shoulders and fixing me with a cool stare. That was more like the Owen I knew and loved; consummate professional at all time. "Dr Green, would you assemble the family in the family office, please? I think it's about time I was honest about my..." he paused, pulling in a deep, calming breath, "...condition. If we must face death, they deserve to know the truth."

I was stunned into silence, unable to even begin to process the magnitude of the decision he had just made, but I nodded in agreement. I left him to his thoughts, slipping out of the room and pulling out my phone. It was time for a family meeting, one that was three years overdue.

Sang

"Hey Silas," Luke greeted the newcomer. I pasted a polite smile on my face, ready to greet this newest member of their ever expanding family. His face was almost completely shrouded in shadow, but I could make out a set of wide shoulders and a solid, well-built torso. He looked quite intimidating, since I couldn't make out any facial features, but as a friend of the other boys I was willing to overlook my usual wariness around intimidating-looking types.

He stepped forward, directly into the path of one of the bright, artificial lights and I froze in shock. This man was even taller than I'd anticipated, and built like a mountain. His hair was jet black, framing his smooth, olive completion in a way that was particularly strikingly. My gaze flitted across his face, my mind seemingly unable to decide whether to focus on the prominent squared jaw, the bottomless brown eyes or the curve of his strong neck as it paved the way down to an abundance of sculpted muscles.

I was no stranger to admiring people in public; given the opportunity; especially impossibly attractive men, but I knew that, without a doubt, this was one man I would run from without a second thought. His entire being was a walking warning sign, and I felt my knees lock up instinctually as I fought to remain in place under the influence of his overwhelming aura. He could never be mistaken for anything less than what he was – a god.

As I stared at him, utterly silent, he stared right back, causing my face to flush uncomfortably. I was so beyond inadequate in his eyes, I had to be, and I wanted nothing more than to run and hide. I had convinced myself with the other boys, even with the initially gruff North, that remaining within their godly orbit wasn't too much of an intrusion, but this boy would never want anything to do with me. I should just walk away and never look back.

"Say something, you overgrown oaf!" Luke exclaimed after a few tense moments of silence, as I debated my chances of making a run for the door. "You're making her uncomfortable with your creepy staring, dude."

"Oh," Silas said abruptly, blinking as if in surprise. He glanced over toward his brother and then fixed his gaze back on my face. "Hello, Sang. I'm happy to finally meet you." He stepped towards me, hand outstretched, but I just continued to stare at him. His accent was subtle, but sounded European. I thought it might have been Greek, which wouldn't been out of place in the Academy from what I'd seen so far.

"Oi, brother," Luke interjected. "Remember what we talked about." He looked pointedly at Silas's fingers, reaching out toward me. Silas looked down at his arm, frowning in apparent confusion, then dropped his hand abruptly back to his side. He looked surprised by his action, which reminded me of how North had reacted earlier today, both seemingly unaware of their actions until it was pointed out to them.

"Sorry," Silas told me, with an earnestness in his deep, rumbling voice that, in turn, took me by surprise. As he spoke, his eyebrows scrunched up and his brow furrowed. It completely changed the aesthetic of his face, transforming him from potential aggressor to adorable teddy bear. I had no idea where the thought came from but I was suddenly, paradoxically drawn by the need to jump into his arms and hug him until he smiled at me.

I didn't do that.

Instead I just continued to stare.

"Are you okay?" Silas asked me, peering at me with increasing concern. I couldn't say I blamed him; I was yet to say a single word to him and I had to look more than a little shell shocked.

"Sang?" Luke stepped into my eye line, leaning down so that I had no choice but to focus on his face. I blinked at the sudden intrusion and sucked in a deep breath, flashing the concerned-looking boy a reassuring smile. In breaking my line of sight, hiding the mountain of a man from my eyes for even a moment, he'd succeeded in snapping me out of whatever weird headspace I'd trapped myself in.

"I'm okay," I told Luke earnestly, smoothing my shaking hands down the fabric of my shirt and over my skirt until they came to rest, forefingers pressed tightly against my thighs. I couldn't remember much of what I'd been told about this guy, having temporarily lost the use of my short-term recall, but I felt a power rolling off him that caused the hairs to stand up at the back of my neck. I had slipped up with Luke, then with North and now again with Gabriel, but I knew that I couldn't afford to let myself make another mistake.

Not with him. Not with Silas! I could vaguely remember him being mentioned at breakfast, although I couldn't recall the exact words, but the fear on Gabriel's face was warning enough. I needed to stay well away from this one.

"Hi, Silas," I spoke up, stepping around Luke towards the other guy. I moved forward out of curtesy, but made sure that I kept well out of arm's reach, in case Silas got the urge to lunge for me without warning. At this point, nothing would surprise me anymore, and I wasn't willing to take any chances.

"Hi Sang," he said softly, deliberately non-threatening, while a gentle smile spread slowly across his face. The gesture filled me with an unanticipated warmth and I returned his smile with a shy one of my own. We peered at each for a few pregnant moments before I realised that both he and Luke were waiting patiently for me to say something.

"So, um..." I started, flustered at having to approach a topic of conversation. It made me realise, as I floundered around in my consciousness for something suitably innocuous to talk about, that I couldn't remember the last time I'd had to initiate anything. The boys, not to mention the girls of the Valkyrie dorm, had all been content to pull me into their existing interactions or ask me questions. It felt alien, even after only a few days, to have to take charge. I wasn't sure how I felt about it...

"So, you're Greek, right?" I blurted out eventually. Luke snorted in laughter, before slapping a palm over his lips in immediate contrition, and Silas tilted his head to the side and watched me quizzically. "I mean... I-I, um..." Come on, Sang! Pull yourself together. Say something; anything. Silas and Luke continued to watch me, wearing twin masks of sympathy and confusion. "I... I mean, are you a Greek?" Good. That was, at least, a full sentence, even if it made about as much sense as me being here right now, actually attempting to have this conversation.

"Yes and yes," Silas said with a wide, toothy smile. It lit his entire face from within, the pearly white of his teeth complementing the youthful glow of his flawless skin. He looked so much younger when he smiled like that and, in that moment, I decided that my desire for him to join my little group of sunshine-smile friends far outweighed the fear and intimidation that had been threatening to take hold of me.

"I don't understand," I admitted, blushing again. I had barely understood my own question, so I didn't know how anyone else would have been able to come up with a coherent answer.

I started to raise a hand to my cheek, without thinking, to check if the skin was as warm as it felt, and saw both boys follow the movement with their eyes. I froze, hand halfway between waist and cheek, then dropped it back to my side as I realised what I was doing.

"Yes, I am the manifestation of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory and, yes, I was born in the beautiful country of Greece, so you're right on both counts," he explained patiently.

"Wow! I'm impressed you managed to decipher my word vomit," I said bluntly, then immediately wished that I could take the words back. What had gotten into me? For some reason, around this particular guy, the words just poured out in a flood of nonsense, leaving me clueless and vulnerable. I wondered if that was his ability; to make people blurt out their most private thoughts, without question. If it was, I was in big trouble.

"Well, I _was_ concentrating on you," Silas said smoothly, smiling at me once more. I felt my heart squeeze at his words, although I didn't quite understand why. I just felt deep in my soul, despite my unflattering first impressions, that this man had a heart of gold. I wanted to get to know him, just like Gabriel had insisted I would, and I was suddenly excited to find out everything about him.

"What brings you to the art studio, Silas?" Luke asked, mercifully deflecting his attention away from me for a brief moment so I could gather my thoughts.

"I saw smoke," Silas chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that seemed to build from inside him then erupt forth, managing to surprise both myself and Luke. Luke arched an eyebrow at his brother, but didn't say anything. I got the impression that laughter was not an everyday occurrence for Silas, any more than it was for North. I wondered why for a moment, then remembered the burden that these boys carried with them each day. I doubted that I'd be smiling either, if I were in their position.

"North?" Luke asked knowingly. He didn't seem too concerned about the conflict between the two boys who had disappeared, so I hoped that meant that North wasn't going to have another incident like the one in homeroom. I figured that, with brothers like Gabriel and Luke, he had a pretty tight grip on his temper most of the time.

"Yes," Silas confirmed, then he turned towards the door just as Gabriel and North staggered through it looking a little worse for wear. "And I would wager that their conflict is now at an end." North folded his arms over his chest, leaning heavily against the newly pink-splotched wall as he watched Gabriel like a hawk. Gabriel on the other hand, was bent over at the waist, fingers splayed out across his thighs, breathing like he'd just run a sprint race at the Olympics.

"Damn, you're fast!" Gabriel gasped out, coughing to clear his throat as he tried to speak and gasp for air at the same time. North's top lip curled up a fraction as he stared holes into Gabriel's back, trying for all the world to look like he was unaffected by their recent chase. He would have succeeded too, had I not been watching him so closely, seeing North's broad chest heave as he took in one ragged breath after another.

"You never stood a chance, Gabe," Luke chimed in, walking over to slap the shorter boy on the back. He held out a hand to Gabriel, who grasped it immediately and hauled himself upright. I watched in fascination as Luke swung an arm around his brother familiarly, so similar to how Gabriel had held me last night, and I couldn't help but remember the warmth of his body, pressed close to my side. I'd never been hugged like that before and now the two were embracing casually, like it was an everyday occurrence. It was strange that something that, until now, had seemed so alien to me, was so normal and comfortable in this family.

"Did too!" Gabriel exclaimed indignantly, pulling me out of my tail-spinning mind. North and Silas snorted with derision at his words but he shook it off, planting a hand on his hip and glaring over at a smug-looking North. A thoughtful expression passed over Gabriel's face, so quickly I thought I might have mistaken it, then he continued. "I swear you never used to be that fast."

"Maybe you're just getting old, Gabe," North teased, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. Several leaves and twigs scattered to the floor as he scrubbed at his scalp and, as I glanced from him to Gabriel, I noticed a few stray leaves in the other boy's hair too.

"Did you run through a hedge?" I spoke quietly, almost to myself, reticent to disrupt the easy banter bouncing between them. Gabriel was the first to look up at me, his eyes snapping over to me before the first word escaped my lips, and then I was being watched intently by all four of them.

"What did you say, Sang?" North asked quickly, before Luke had chance to finish opening his mouth. I opened and shut my mouth a few times, shocked by the sudden attention, then decided that the best course of action was just to repeat myself without censorship. It was a stupid question, but I'd asked it already. They deserved to see the real, unfiltered me, even if I made zero logical sense right now.

"I asked if you chased him through a hedge," I explained, first glancing down at the ground at North's feet, now littered with natural debris, then gesturing vaguely in Gabriel's direction.

"Mother fucker, if you messed up my hair..." Gabriel trailed off, storming off towards the mirror that North had vacated only minutes earlier. The room fell utterly silent as Gabriel moved with purpose until he froze, half way across between the group and the far wall. "Oh fuck!" He whirled around and glared at Silas, pointing an accusatory finger at his brother. "Did you do this? So help me God, if you did something, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Silas asked, smirking at him. Gabriel's eyes got really wide, blood rushing to his face as he struggled to contain whatever emotion he had welling up inside him at that moment. He shook with silent rage for a moment, then let out a huff of irritation in Silas' direction, seeming to give up on whatever it was he'd been thinking of doing. I didn't blame him. I couldn't begin to claim that I understood what had just happened, but I knew that I wouldn't want to pick a fight with the guy. He'd probably squash me like a bug!

"Mother fucker!" Gabriel repeated, turning back on his heel and continuing his march toward the mirror to fix his appearance.

"Should I even ask...?" I began to address the group but, just then, I heard a sharp buzzing sound, followed by all three of them reaching into their various pockets and pulling out their cell phones. Glancing over at Gabriel, across the room, I could see that he had abandoned his de-twigging operation and was, too, inspecting his slim, expensive-looking phone. "Is everything okay?"

"What?" Luke sounded distracted as he looked up at me, dragging him eyes from the bright screen of his phone. "Oh, yeah, everything's fine. We need to, uh... We have a last minute meeting we forgot about, right guys?" He looked around for help from his brothers, but Silas was still looking down at his phone. North nodded slowly, watching me carefully as I examined each of the boys in turn.

They were lying to me, that much was obvious. I also didn't know how I felt about it. I knew that, having only known each other for a maximum of three days, they didn't have to tell me anything. If they wanted to leave me for whatever reason, they could just leave and they wouldn't owe me anything. Would I be hurt? Of course, but I needed to remember that I wasn't a part of their world. As much as I enjoyed their company, and as strange as the things were that had been happening around us, I was just passing through their lives for a fleeting moment. Soon enough they'd come to see, just as I could, that I was truly a nobody and then they would move on. They were a family and I was an outsider; I was nothing to them.

"Oh!" I tried to sound casual as I responded to Luke's untruth. I didn't want them to see how much his deception had affected me, so I forced myself to smile up at him pleasantly as I felt Gabriel step into the empty space beside me.

"Sorry, Trouble," Gabriel told me, his breath tickling my earlobe again as we stood side by side. "We wouldn't leave if it wasn't important, trust me."

"It's fine," I said, proud that my voice didn't waver as I spoke. I really wanted to trust him, but I got the feeling that I was going to get my heart broken no matter what choice I made. "You all should go. I think I know the way back to my dorm from here." In fact, I was pretty sure I had no idea which of the fifty, almost identical buildings it was, but I didn't want them to know that. I knew I was a terrible liar but, since they were all clearly distracted by whatever important message they had just received, I hoped they wouldn't notice. I'd save the tears for after they were gone.

"Are you sure?" Gabriel questioned. He sounded unconvinced. "I wish I didn't have to go, but..." He sounded so convincingly dejected at the prospect that I almost forgot that they were obviously blowing me off for something better.

"I'll stay with Sang," Silas said abruptly. I turned to stare at him, my mouth falling open. He swallowed quickly, Adam's apple bobbing frenetically at the reflex, appearing unnerved by my reaction. He spread his hands out wide and focused his gaze on the floor at my feet. "Only if you want me to, of course."

"I really don't want to cause you any trouble," I mumbled. My mind was urging me to tell him exactly how I felt, how I wanted nothing more than for him to stay, but I resisted. "I'll be fine."

"In that case, would you allow me to show you around campus, Sang?" He sounded so earnest, so hopeful, that I nodded in agreement before my mind had time to fully process my response. It was pure instinct, the need to learn everything I could about this painfully enticing family, before it was all taken from me by force. I would take whatever I could get, I decided, consequences be damned.

"You'll be okay with Silas?" It didn't start off as a question but I think, when North noticed the look on my face, he could tell how I was feeling. His tone softened as he finished the sentence and when I turned to look at him, he gave me a small, reassuring smile.

"Of course she will," Silas said quickly, grinning at his sullen, grumpier brother. "You've had three days to get to know her and I only saw once, when she was in the inf..." Luke cleared his throat and Silas paused. "Never mind. It will give us the chance to get to know each other, won't it Sang?"

"Sure," I agreed, if only to get him to flash me another bright, toothy smile. He didn't disappoint.

"Okay, we've got to go kids," Luke reminded everyone, and then he, Gabriel and North were gone, leaving me alone in a pink art studio with Silas.

"Hey. Catch!" Gabriel's head popped back around the doorframe, before something flew straight towards my face. Silas intercepted the incoming projectile with ease, and I heard a familiar jingle as he caught the keys to the building in his outstretched arm.

"Nice catch," I told him quietly and I could see his shoulders lift a fraction, even with his back to me. I thought that the subtle shift in his frame might be an early indicator of yet another smile and, when he turned back to me, my suspicions were proved to be correct. He was beaming from ear to ear and quickly held out the keys to me.

"Thanks," he said. "Here." He dangled the keys on the very tips of his fingers and I was tempted to reach out and take them, but I remember Gabriel's warning just in time.

"I shouldn't..." I trailed off, hoping he would understand what I was trying to say without making me come right out and tell him to stay away from me.

"Oh, of course." He seemed surprised, like he'd forgotten about the situation once more. "I'm not usually this forgetful. I just can't seem to control myself around you."

"Seems like you're not the only one," I muttered, suddenly overcome by an overwhelming sense of bitterness.

"Yes, my brothers have been keeping us entertained with all the drama as it unfolds," Silas replied. I couldn't help but blush at the thought of all my mistakes and shortcomings being broadcast to the world, even if it was only a small group of people sharing in my humiliation.

"I'm amazed you still wanted to meet me after all that," I told him honestly. I also still didn't really understand why he had stayed with me, instead of going with his family, but I was grateful that he had. I wanted to know more about not just him, but the whole family, and this was as close to private as a conversation had been so far. I was determined to use the time wisely, to find out as much as I could while I still had the chance.

"It's an honour," Silas said kindly, making me grin like a lunatic. "Now, why don't we leave this mess for Gabriel to clean up and show you some of the more interesting parts of the campus?"

"I-I... like art," I said lamely, and Silas laughed again.

"Gabe won't mind if you don't." I smiled, but decided against further defiling the boy's sacred space. We'd already ruined it enough with our Jackson Pollock moment earlier, so I decided that it had suffered enough at my hands.

"Where are we going?" I asked, intrigued to find out where on the vast campus Silas might feel most at home. My guess was for the football field, if they even had one of those, or maybe on a wrestling mat. He looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't be out of place in a wrestling match.

"You'll see," he joked coyly, gesturing for me to head for the door ahead of him. He followed me at a distance until I emerged into the increasingly warm sunlight. It was still wintry out but, everywhere the light touched, it was slowly starting to thaw little by little.

Once outside, I turned to wait for him, only to see him digging into the deep front pockets of his snug-fitting jeans. He grunted as he pulled something small and dark from the right pocket, then quickly retrieved a matching item from the left one.

"I almost forgot," he said, stepping toward me abruptly. I consider stepping backwards to keep at a safe, non-touching distance, but I stood my ground. If he really wanted to grab for me, I wasn't going to be able to stop him physically, so I decided to trust that he was in control of his impulses. "I didn't know what colour you would want, so I went with my favourite, but I thought you could use these around... well, around me."

He held out his huge fist, the mystery gift tucked tightly inside, and I positioned my own, cupped hands directly below his own. He opened his fist, allowing the two small scraps of dark blue fabric to fall into my waiting hands. My fingers closed around them as I brought my arms back towards my chest, then stepped back out of range to examine the gift.

"Oh my goodness, Silas," I breathed as I gazed down at my hands in surprise. "They're perfect. Thank you!"

I slipped one of the thin, blue mesh gloves on, then the other, before turning my hands over a few times to look at them from all angles. They were light and thin, surprisingly so, but they covered every inch of my previously exposed flesh. I flexed my fingers quickly, delighted to find that they were equally as flexible and comfortable as they were subtle in style.

"Like I said, if you want a different colour I can get Gabriel to..."

"No!" I exclaimed, interrupting his words. He sounded so sure that I would hate his gift that I had to set him straight. "This is the nicest gift I've ever been given, Silas."

"Oh." That seemed to stun him into silence. He paused for a moment then continued. "If you think this is a great gift, you should meet Victor." Ah, the elusive Victor; one of the brothers I had yet to meet. Sean had mentioned him too. I didn't know what Silas meant by his words and, right then, I didn't care.

"Thank you," I repeated, tears welling up in my eyes as I continued to stare at the gloves that now shielded me from my failure.

"Any time, aggele." I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded beautiful and his voice was low and gentle.

I don't know what came over me at that moment because, the next thing I remember, I was flinging my arms around Silas' waist, hugging him with all the strength I could muster. I felt every muscle in his back seize as he froze in shock, before his warm arms snaked around my shoulders and held me to his chest.

My eyes fluttered closed as I pressed my cheek to his abdomen and I breathed deep. The salt that carried on the brisk sea breeze tickled my nose as I felt the gentle spray spot my face and the ocean lap at my feet. I could feel the clean, fresh air flowing through every pore of my skin, invigorating and rejuvenating me, mind, body and soul. I could have stayed right here, lost inside the moment forever, but a soft clearing of a throat nearby ripped me from the idyllic shoreline in an instant.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled, peeling my gloved fingers from where I had latched onto Silas' shirt in a vice-like grip, stumbling backwards out of arm's reach. "I don't know why I did that."

"Don't worry about it," he told me kindly, smiling down at me in reassurance. My face flushed in embarrassment as the full realisation of my unprovoked assault on this near-stranger dawned on me. "I also didn't _hate_ it!" he added.

"What is wrong with me?" I asked myself out loud, and Silas shrugged at me with a smile on his lips. "And I could have sworn I actually felt..." I couldn't even begin to explain what I'd experienced when I got close to him. It had happened with Gabriel and Luke too, that first morning, I remembered.

I wondered for a moment why it hadn't happened with North, Sean or Kota, if it was perhaps related to everything else that was going on. North was easy; he'd been on fire the first time I'd come close enough, so that might have had an effect. Sean and Kota, on the other hand... I had been unconscious, I realised after a moment. They'd first come into contact with me when I'd been out of commission. I wondered if maybe that might explain why these weird visions had only happened with some of the family members I'd met.

I made a mental note to mention it to Kota the next time I saw him. He'd told me that he and their mysterious Master Blackbourne had been looking for anything that might help and, if I was right, it seemed like it might be a useful clue. It would feel good to finally do something useful for a change, instead of being the cause of so many problems.

"Nothing is wrong with you, aggele," Silas told me. "Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

"I'd love to," I agreed. He smiled again, before closing the gap between us and taking my hand in his. He wrapped his large, warm hand around my tiny, gloved one, and gently tugged my towards the pathway leading east. I realised later, when I stopped to think about that day, that it didn't even occur to me to remove my hand from his. I would never have initiated such a forward move with anyone, let alone this boy who had so quickly flipped my preconceptions on their head, yet I simply allowed him to sweep me along for the ride without a second thought.

"Oh," he added, as we started to walk together. "And I felt it too!"

"Here we are," Silas announced with considerable pride, gesturing with our still entangled hands towards a large wire-mesh fence, beyond which lay a full size baseball diamond. "Best spot on campus."

"Do you play?" I asked. I had assumed he would have said yes, considering the reverence in his expression as he stared out onto the field, but his face fell at my words.

"No," he told me eventually. "My abilities prevent me from taking part in any competitive sports. I only play when my brothers and I get some time off together."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, reaching up to pat his forearm in sympathy. It was clear that this was a point of sincere disappointment and sacrifice for him. I didn't think he would have come here if he was willing to talk about it, but I chose my next words very carefully. "Can I ask what... I mean, why you can't play?"

"I'll do one better," he said, his face lighting up once more. "I'll show you."

I grinned to myself as we headed for the small gap in the high fence that would allow us to enter the miniature stadium, complete with tiered seats and dugout. Silas pointed out, when I asked, that even the descendants of gods, goddesses and assorted deities needed to blow off steam every now and then, hence the healthy competitive sport scene at the Academy.

"Excuse me, sir!" Silas was just ducking through the gap in the fence when I heard a high, nervous voice call out. I couldn't see an owner for the voice at first but, when Silas turned and stepped aside, I came face to face with a small boy who couldn't have been more than ten years old.

"Can we help you?" Silas asked the boy, who was shaking in his tiny shoes as he stared up at Silas towering over him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mister Korba, sir, but I'm supposed to tell you that Miss Sang Sorenson is required in Master McCoy's office." The odd mix of respect, adoration and abject terror on the boy's face would ordinarily have made me smile but, at the mention of Master McCoy, my stomach turned uncomfortably.

"Can it wait?" Silas asked curtly, and then softened his tone when the poor kid looked ready to pass out on the spot. "You don't need to be scared of me, child."

"I'm sorry, sir, but he was very clear. He wanted to see her in his office immediately... sir." He added, as if he might be reprimanded for any perceived lapse in formality. Then again, if I had to run errands for McCoy, I'd look traumatised too.

"Okay," Silas reassured the boy. "You may go. I'll escort Miss Sang to the faculty offices myself."

"Th-thank you, sir." Then the boy was gone, tearing across the grass and over a gently sloping hill before Silas or I could utter another word. He'd successfully delivered his message and, clearly, there were few places he wanted to be less than trading casual conversation with a manifest like Silas.

"I guess you can show me another time," I said, shrugging apologetically towards Silas as I followed him back through the opening onto the path.

"Absolutely," he agreed with a smile. "I'll hold you to that."

"Miss Sang Sorenson." A friendly-sounding female voice echoed through the overhead tannoy system in the hallway where Silas and I waited to be called. "Master McCoy will see you now."

"Wish me luck," I said to Silas as he pointed me towards the door I needed to go through to reach McCoy's office.

"Remember that he has nothing on you, Sang. You haven't done anything wrong, so don't let him bully you."

I smiled at him appreciatively as I walked away but I couldn't say that I agreed with his assessment. I was guilty of involvement in a number of unacceptable incidents in the past few days, not least the destruction of half a classroom and nearly the entire building with it. If he brought that up, it was going to be tough to argue with his logic. I wasn't entirely convinced I was innocent.

"Don't worry, aggele," Silas called as I pushed open the door that was labelled 'West Wing'. "If he tries anything, North and I will be happy to talk to him for you. He's not particularly fond of either of us, especially when he has very little power himself."

"I'll keep that in mind," I called back, then glanced inside the door guiltily to make sure McCoy hadn't been standing there, listening in. The next room was empty so I headed inside and let the door close behind me, putting some distance between Silas and myself. I found myself in another, smaller corridor, this one decorated entirely in the most disconcerting shade of mint green. If its intent was to make students uncomfortable, I could report that it did its job perfectly.

"Go straight through," the discombobulated female voice instructed me. I did as I was told, moving quickly towards a second door further down the hall, labelled 'Vice President'. I knocked twice, then heard a male voice call out.

"You're late, Miss Sorenson."

I pushed open the door and slipped inside. Master McCoy, today wearing a mustard-coloured tweed jacket with a matching tie, sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled under his chin as he watched me enter.

"I'm sorry, Master McCoy," I tried to explain. "I was on the opposite side of campus when your message got to us and..."

"That is not an excuse," he interrupted, flattening his palms against the shiny wood of his mahogany desk.

"But..."

"Sit down, Miss Sorenson," he barked, causing me to jump at the harsh sound. I quickly pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, eager not to irritate the unhappy man more than I had obviously managed to already.

"Now," he continued, once he was satisfied that she had settled in, in preparation for his lecture. "Would you like to explain to me what, exactly, you thought you were doing breaking into the senior art studio this morning and vandalising it?"

"I-I..." I was speechless. I'd been mentally preparing myself to be interrogated about the fire, but this completely blindsided me. How could he possibly have found out about the art studio this quickly, unless he'd had someone watching us?

Oh! Realisation struck me as I finally understood. This was no coincidence. He'd probably been watching me since the incident in homeroom, waiting for me or the boys to make another mistake.

"I didn't," I began, but he seemed determined not to let me finish. He pushed his chair back from his desk and stood up, circling around behind me. I didn't dare try to turn around to see what he was doing. I didn't want to give him any other reason to be angry with me.

"You, Miss Sorenson." He spat my name like the words were poisonous bile. "You have caused nothing but trouble since you arrived. You have caused untold amounts of damage to Academy property and, on top of everything, you show a blatant disrespect for my authority."

"I meant no disrespect," I spluttered, trying to think back through our fleeting interaction for anything I might have done to show a lack of respect. I didn't think I'd actually spoken a single word to him in our first encounter and now, I hadn't yet been able to complete a single sentence. I thought about telling him that the apparent graffiti had been an accident but I didn't think that would go down well, given the circumstances.

"Yet you convey it, simply by your attitude. I will not tolerate such behaviour in this institution, Miss Sorenson." He paused and I could feel him standing just behind me. It made me feel incredibly uncomfortable to have him so close, in stark contrast to the easy camaraderie I'd struck up with the boy waiting outside, but I resisted making any sudden movements. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm.

"You need to be punished for your actions," McCoy continued, shifting threateningly behind me. I fixed my eyes on the embroidery of his seat cushion to try to distract myself from the urge to turn to face him. I was glad, in that moment, that Silas had explained, as we had raced across campus to the faculty building, how little power McCoy was able to wield. At least I didn't have to worry about him trying to mind control me or smite me in my seat.

The man was a distant descendant of one of the Fates, according to Silas. Apparently the power levels in descendants dropped off dramatically after a few generations, leaving him with virtually nothing. Nobody knew why President Hendricks had appointed him, apparently. He was a terrible human being and an even worse educator, in Silas' words. I couldn't say I disagreed.

"Ow!" I shouted, lifting a hand to rub furiously at the back of my head as a sharp pain erupted at the base of my scalp. At this, I twisted around in my seat to glare at Master McCoy, who leant against the bookshelf on the back wall, trying and failing to look like he'd been there the whole time. "What did...?"

What had just happened? What could the hateful man possibly have to gain by poking me in the back of the head? Maybe I was just being extraordinarily paranoid.

"About your punishment, Miss Sorenson," he deflected smoothly, failing to address my confused question. Maybe I was losing my mind. "I'm assigning you to a work detail for the rest of this week. I trust, after some hard labour, you'll have learnt your lesson."

"But..."

"I'm finished with you, Miss Sorenson. Please close the door quietly behind you on your way out and collect your detention slip from my secretary in the main office."

I frowned as he effectively dismissed me without any chance of explaining or negotiating, but got up and made my way to the door. That had to be one of the oddest exchanges I'd ever had and I wasn't even sure exactly what my punishment was. Work detail? Hard labour? What kind of detentions did they have in this school?

"Well?" Silas asked, pushing off the wall and making his way to my side before I was completely through the outer door.

"Work detail, whatever that is," I said with a shrug.

"What for?" he asked incredulously.

"Apparently for vandalising the art studio," I told him, and his expression blackened in anger.

"But that wasn't your fault, and Gabriel started it." I didn't agree with the second part of his statement but I certainly hadn't intentionally caused any damage. I would accept a punishment happily, especially if I deserved it, but I hadn't had a chance to explain anything.

"He wouldn't listen," I said, placing a gloved hand on Silas' arm. I hoped that it might, somehow, help to calm him but he shook off my touch and started marching towards the closed door leading to McCoy's office.

"He'll listen to me."

~?~

I parked the car by the side of the road, pushed open the door and stepped out into the cloying, sweltering midday sun. I could barely focus long enough to shut the door and lock my vehicle before I felt the undeniable tug in my gut that had brought me to this point. The urge to walk, to just keep moving was growing with each passing minute, which I hoped meant that my journey would soon be over. Maybe, soon, I'd be able to go home to my family.

"Okay, okay!" I muttered to myself as my feet started to move on their own, dragging me around my car and off the road. I could just about make out the faint outline of a scarcely used path, hidden beneath a dense layer of overgrown foliage, but it didn't matter. It made no difference whether there existed a path or not; I had been tasked with delivering a message, whether my mind wanted to obey or not.

I was walking for nearly an hour, stumbling over thick, protruding roots and slipping in mud, before I emerged from the shadow of the trees into a secluded, woodland clearing. The insistent, almost painful urge to keep moving vanished between one heartbeat and the next, and I dropped to my knees in the wet grass of the clearing. Did this mean my ordeal was nearly over?

I glanced around at the empty expanse of woodland surrounding the small clearing, my brow furrowing in confusion. There had to be some kind of mistake. This was a place of untouched natural beauty, so far removed from the horrors I had witnessed inside my mind at the hands of my tormentor – Volto, they had said their name was. This was the kind of place I would bring my family for a picnic, or delight to stumble upon whilst on a jog, not the evil, cursed place I had envisioned throughout the journey.

I knelt in silence for several long minutes, knowing better than to move. I couldn't believe that this place was where I was to find Volto's henchmen, but that didn't mean I was foolish enough to risk being wrong. Just then, I heard a rustling in the trees, followed by the soft crunch of a single pair of boots tracking through the thick woodland behind me. I didn't look round.

"Stand up, human!" I did as I was told, fearful of retribution if I did not comply. The man's voice was low and gravelly, the threat of violence shining through just three words. He also had a fierce tone that suggested that, unless I obeyed, I would not survive long enough to match the voice to a face. "What is your business here? Speak!"

"I bring a message for the followers of a being known to me as Volto," I told the empty clearing, keeping my back squarely to the man I could sense behind me. I would not risk turning around, not even one inch, until I knew I would be allowed to do so. My sense of self-preservation was too great for that. I wanted to live. I needed to live!

"Then deliver it," the gruff voice told me impatiently. "I have little patience for those of your kind."

"Okay," I stammered. "They told me to tell you that it is time. They also said that I should tell that you were being called into service, whatever that means, and that the war was starting."

"Oh did _they_ now," the voice said dangerously. "Well that is very interesting. And did _they_ say anything else?"

"No," I said, then paused to try to think clearly through the fear clouding my mind. "Wait...! They said that you would know what to do."

"Perfect," he replied and I cringed at the gleeful, oily tone to the invisible voice. "Come!" It was a command which demanded to be heard and obeyed. I hesitated only for a moment before I turned towards the direction of the sound and fixed my eyes on the man who stood no more than three paces behind me.

He was slim, wiry and pale. His frame was a little shy of my six feet and his exposed shoulders and forearms had only the barest hint of muscle to them. He swayed on his feet, seeming unable to stay in one place or position for more than a moment, and his entire body looked tensed and ready to leap for my throat at any second.

For a half second I entertained the thought of trying to overpower the smaller man, until he locked his cold, blank eyes onto mine and I truly saw him. I could see into him, into the blackened, shrivelled core of the creature that had once been alive, and I saw only death. This... thing would feel no pain at my hand, feel no remorse for my death. I could not reason with it; I could not escape it; I was lost.

He turned and disappeared back into the densely packed trees and I followed, unable to stop myself. I was walking under my own volition; there was no force urging me forward now save my own free will, yet I followed anyway.

"Welcome to the Sanctum of the Brotherhood," the creature told me suddenly, pulling my attention back to my surroundings. I lifted my head to see that we had arrived in front of an old, ramshackle hunting cabin, which looked like it had been left abandoned for decades. The sheet metal that had originally made up the roof was now piled in haphazard stacks on the faded, rotten decking that ran around the edge of the property. Every window save one was boarded up, with shards of glass and plastic littering the rims and sills. There was no way anyone could live here, not even my lifeless tour guide.

"How many of you live in there?" I asked, pointing up at the house. The strange man grimaced, baring his few remaining teeth in a poor facsimile of a smile. I shuddered as he turned his attention back onto me again, an overwhelming sense of wrongness creeping down my spine.

"Oh, no one has lived there for over forty years," he told me slowly, his eyes darting back and forth as he examined me head to toe, shoulder to shoulder. "Now, come and meet my brothers." For a brief moment, as I watched him stalk towards the antique, rundown home, I wondered if it was possible that this could all be some horrifically elaborate dream. I closed my eyes, pinched my arm, and prayed that I might end up waking up in my bed beside my beloved wife. I would run into my baby daughter's room and wake her, regardless of the late hour, just to make sure she was safe. I would cherish every moment I had with them, if I could just wake up from this nightmare.

My eyes snapped open. There was a loud creak as the man lifted up a large wooden panel below the decking to reveal a black, gaping hole that led down into the earth. He lifted one skeletally slim hand out to me, beckoning me forward.

"No," I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry and numb, and I had trouble forcing the words out. "Your Master promised me, once I delivered the message, I could go home to my family."

"You are home now," the man said ominously. "Meet your new family." He gestured around at the trees surrounding the cabin, a space which had been empty only moments earlier. Now, there appeared over one hundred men that all looked just like the first, blocking my escape in every direction.

I glanced around myself, looking for any possible way out. Everywhere I looked there were men, rows upon rows of them, each with the same thin, impossibly bony physique and emotionless, dead eyes. I was trapped.

"We leave at dawn," the first man announced flatly, although there was no visible reaction to his words from the rest of the group. He appeared to be the only one capable of, or willing to show signs of life, or cognizance. I guessed that he was their leader. Perhaps I ought to feel flattered as I die, I thought myself wryly. The man in charge came to bring me to my death after all. What an honour...

"Kill me now, then," I told him, trying my best to sound in control of my fears. Fearless unto death... I couldn't remember what philosopher, thinker – or possibly rapper – had spoken those words, but they sounded appropriate.

"I'm not going to kill you, human." Another chill trickled down my spine. The tone was low, flat and emotionally unreadable now. Until this moment I had never thought to concern myself with fates worse than death but now, standing in front of this gaping, black pit before me, I wondered if I might need to re-evaluate a few things.

"What, then?" I asked, my voice cracking involuntarily as I spoke.

"The Brotherhood is called to war. There are, inevitably, always casualties in war, and there will always be soldiers required to take the place of the fallen."

I gulped back tears as the weight of his words settled down upon me. My family would never know what happened to me; why I'd left them. Oh, God! They would think that I had abandoned them! A single drop of moisture escaped the corner of my eye and rolled slowly down my cheek. I love you, I thought fiercely. I love you!

"Besides," the man continued, either not noticing or not caring that I was falling apart from the inside out. I thought that he had probably lost the ability to care a long, long time ago. "The girls need feeding before we depart. They haven't eaten in –hmm, let me see... - I think it's been six months now. They'll be hungry."

"Who will...?" I started to ask, but the deafening roar that echoed from the pit at his feet brought me up short.

"Come out and play girls," he whispered, turning his back on me to gaze into the inky blackness. "He's all yours."


	9. Chapter 9: Detention and Baseball

I stared, dumbfounded, towards the slowly swinging door that Silas had just slammed through on his one-man warpath. The set of his jaw, combined with the steely glint to his eye, made it clear that he meant business. Whilst I was convinced that Master McCoy was not someone I ever wanted to cross, there was no question as to who was going to come out on top in this conflict. McCoy was creepy, oily and all-over unpleasant but Silas was a force of nature, a lion poised and ready to pounce on the weaker man and tear him apart.

The anticipation and adrenaline quickly built up in my belly as I waited to see what swift hell the rampaging manifestation of Nike, goddess of victory, would wreak on the miserable man but, after ten minutes of no activity, my energy levels began to plummet like a stone. I was exhausted just from being around so much drama in a single day. It was so alien from the solitary existence I had eked out until my arrival here that it had completely drained me, both mentally and physically.

I plopped down onto a nearby bench seat, slumping down next to a slim, brown-haired boy who was studiously avoiding eye-contact with anyone who passed him. He had a fat, glossy magazine clutched in his slim, bony fingers, and he had the tome pressed so close to his face that he might have been at risk of a paper cut to the nose if he made any sudden moves.

As my butt hit the seat, he flinched and shifted along the wooden bench to put some distance between our bodies. I did the same without a second thought, instantaneously regretting my decision to sit down so close to someone who didn't welcome the intrusion, but his words stopped me dead in my tracks.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled, pulling the magazine away from his face just enough that the sound wasn't muffled as it travelled the short distance between us. His cheeks were slightly flushed; it was such a familiar reaction that I immediately felt a kinship with this boy. "I'll move." He actually started to stand up but I quickly rose to my feet and turned to face him.

"Please don't," I told him quickly, stepping away from the bench a little. "Forcing you off your bench was the last thing I wanted. I should be the one to move."

"Normally people don't sit so close to me," he mumbled, staring fixedly at the beige linoleum at his feet, but eventually lowered himself slowly back down onto the bench. "I really wouldn't mind moving."

My heart immediately went out to this boy as he hunched over in his seat, his cheeks blazing crimson and his eyes darting around in an effort to look anywhere but at me. He reminded me so much of myself, the crippling self-doubt in the presence of others a mainstay of my own experience. At my last school, I would have likely done exactly the same as he'd just done, given the same circumstances. I would have assumed that, if someone had sat down beside me, they would have been looking to save the adjacent seat – the seat I was occupying – for a friend. I would have apologised and walked away, just like he had intended. Back then, I would always have walked away.

Now? Now, I wasn't so sure!

What had changed, I wondered. Maybe it was the multiple friendships I'd begun in the past few days, infinitely more numerous than the zero I'd made in the seventeen years previous. Had I really changed that much in such a short time? I examined the situation in front of me carefully, considering my options with due diligence, before sitting back down onto the bench. I made sure to position myself a little further away from the boy this time, though. There was no question about it in my mind; I needed to befriend this fellow lonely soul more than I needed to breathe.

It was a different urge than I'd had with the other boys, the powerful, totally overwhelming group of god-like manifests who had swept me up so unexpectedly. Whereas with them it was a pathologic need to know them entirely, in this moment I just wanted to make sure that this boy knew that someone cared – that I cared. He, just like I'd been so desperate for in my childhood, needed to know that I didn't want him to give me his seat; he didn't need to run from me. I owed it to the memories of my tattered youth to try to give him what I had never had.

"People don't like sitting near me either," I told him softly, twisting around to look at him directly. I was surprised to see that he had the newly closed magazine – PC Gamer magazine, as the glossy cover boasted – tucked tightly into his lap and now watched me intently. His wide, innocent eyes traced every inch of my face carefully and then, seeming to have decided I was no threat to him, returned to gazing at the floor.

"Why?" he asked, his fidgety fingers worrying the pages of the magazine. It was a technique I had employed more times than I could count, when I needed to distract myself from my own crippling fear whilst in public. This boy was scared of me, I realised abruptly, and I had no idea why – or how I could help him!

"What?" I asked, confused by his question. "Why would anyone want to sit by me anymore than they would by you?" I was as much of a loser as anyone, if not more.

"Because you're beautiful," he blurted out, then coughed in embarrassment. "I-I mean, you're really popular. I've heard people talking about you, ever since you got here."

"Are you kidding?" I asked, completely floored by his assertion. I didn't think I'd have enough brain processing brain if it accumulated over the next decade to begin to address the first part of his statement, so I focused on the second. "I'm not popular. I've only been here a few days. What are people saying?" Oh God! My throat clenched around the words. The whole school knew about the incident in homeroom the other day, or they knew the rumours that Bryn and Jess swore were circling. No wonder people were talking. They all thought I was some kind of prostitute or something, from what the girls had said. I didn't even know what the job description entailed and I knew I already had a hideous reputation. I wondered if anyone knew about the incident in the art room yet. I wasn't going to become any less of a walking punch line if that went public, what with the entrance I'd made so far. I had to hold the record for most disastrous student enrolment in history!

"No." The boy spoke perfunctorily. "Everyone is talking about the blonde girl who has the Pantheonic Revival wrapped around her little finger in less than a week. They say that you must be really powerful!" He finished in a rush, appearing to tense up and lean away from me a fraction. It was almost as if he expected me to attack him where he sat. No wonder he hadn't wanted to sit beside me, if that rumour was prevalent.

"Hardly," I insisted. I vaguely remembered Gabriel calling his family by that name the day we met, although I couldn't remember why or anything else about the official-sounding designation. "I barely know them, and I'm not convinced I have any powers at all. I don't know why I'm even here."

I didn't know why, exactly, I was sharing all of this with him right now. He was a complete stranger, more so than any of the other people I'd met so far at the Academy, but I felt strangely safe sharing the information. I didn't know what it was about his young face, so guarded and hardened by loneliness, but I thought I could share anything with him and he'd take it with him to the grave.

"I saw you sitting with them at breakfast this morning," he pointed out. I couldn't dispute that one. I _had_ been sitting with them, after all. "I've been here since I was six," he continued, "and, in that time, do you know how many people have sat at that table before you, besides them?"

"No..." I said slowly, although I got the feeling that the question was rhetorical. The brown-haired boy beside me seemed to have found his voice and I wasn't about to do anything to discourage the flow of information coming my way.

"None." My jaw went slack and I fought to keep my mouth from falling open in surprise. That wasn't possible! I couldn't possibly be the first. I didn't know what to make of this information and just spluttered awkwardly as I tried to find a suitable, coherent response. "So, yes, people are talking. How could they not?"

"I don't understand..." I started to say but, at that moment, a loud crashing sound emanated from the closed door that led to Master McCoy's office. Both of us jumped at the deafening noise and turn to watch as the door clattered open once more. Silas burst through it, a huge, satisfied grin spread wide across his handsome face, and I jumped to my feet. He strode confidently down the corridor towards me once he spotted us huddled together by the bench.

As he moved, he stepped aside sufficiently for me to spot McCoy follow him through the doorway, hot on his heels and with an expression that promised retribution. I didn't think I'd ever seen so much pure hatred and vitriol on a person's face before but, despite the full force of it being focused with laser-point accuracy at the back of his head, Silas didn't seem too concerned.

"Come on, aggele." He gestured for me to follow him, then paused to wait for me. I hesitated, turning back to look at my short-lived bench companion. I half wanted to continue the conversation, to figure out what he knew, but Silas looked like he wanted us to leave in a hurry. A quick glance at the purple-faced, mouth-breathing Master behind him, who was now approaching rapidly, made me realise that haste was probably no bad thing.

"Sorry. I need to go," I told the boy quickly, turning my back on the advancing, irate Vice-President and flashing my companion a small, friendly smile. I wanted him to know that I wasn't abandoning him. "It was nice to meet you. My name is Sang, by the way." He glanced around me to see what was going on and his eyes widened in shock, but he focused back on my face long enough to answer me.

"I know who you are, Sang Sorenson. I listen when people talk. You should try it sometime," he told me cryptically. I frowned as I tried to figure out his meaning, but he had already moved on. "It was nice to meet you too. I'm Wil."

"Aggele, we need to leave, now!" Silas urged from behind me and the conflicting pull in my gut snapped back in Silas' favour. I needed to leave. I turned my back on Wil and hurried over to join him. He grabbed hold of one of my gloved hands, twining my fingers snugly in mine, and began to tug me gently down the hallway towards the fluorescent exit sign, hung above a set of thick, metal double doors.

"Bye, Wil," I called behind me, twisting my neck so that I could look back at him. I was surprised to see that Master McCoy was no longer following us but, instead, was looming over my newest acquaintance. The predatory look on his face was unmistakable, even as we got further and further away, and I hoped with every fibre of my being that I wouldn't get the boy in trouble for my sake. I hoped that he wouldn't be punished just for his association.

"Mr Winchester," I barely heard McCoy hiss out, as Silas and I reached the exit doors and he released me to push them open with both hands. "Get in here and tell me everything!" I glanced back once more to see Wil staring wide-eyed at me, abject fear and something closely resembling guilt flooding his expression, then we were outside and the doors were swinging shut behind us.

"What happened in there?" We had been walking for nearly ten minutes before I plucked up the confidence to ask the question that had been bouncing around in my mind since we had left the office building. Silas was marching swiftly down another unfamiliar pathway, his long legs and powerful strides making it difficult to keep up with him. I found myself almost jogging behind him as he walked, apparently unaware of my difficulty. I had considered asking him to slow down but I didn't want to risk his mood changing abruptly, like North's had after his own altercation with the unpleasant-natured Vice-Principal. I kept reminding myself that I still had no inkling of Silas' powers, besides the fact that I should avoid the risks of contact. I didn't want to be responsible for another incident but, after almost ten minutes, I could keep my curiosity to myself no longer.

"Huh?" Silas asked, sounding confused by my question. He slowed in his movement long enough to glance back at me, trailing at least five paces behind him. "Sorry!"

He stopped in his tracks, waiting for me to catch up to his side. His expression contorted into one of contrition and he reached for my hand again. I allowed him to take it, although I was much more reluctant this time, and he scooped my much smaller hand up inside both of his huge ones. He gazed straight into my eyes and sighed.

"I apologise for my rudeness. I had forgotten that you cannot walk as fast as my brothers. I will try better to match my pace to yours, if you would forgive me."

"You don't need to apologise," I said quickly. "You were in a hurry to get away from McCoy, right?" I still didn't know what had happened in the office, behind closed doors, but I figured it had to have been bad for the man to have been so angry at Silas. Silas himself had looked more contented than anything else, if I remembered correctly, but I figured that must be an act for my benefit, or for anyone else who might have been around. From his urgency, I was convinced that he had not been expecting Master McCoy to follow him out into the corridor.

Again, I thought of the boy I'd met, Wil. There had been a weird familiarity between him and McCoy, like perhaps he was in trouble a lot, but I thought that seemed unlikely. Wil didn't seem like the type to get in trouble, so I guessed it was something else entirely. I had a bad feeling that I'd just caused a significant amount of trouble for him and, once again, I hoped he wouldn't be punished for just talking to me after McCoy had made it abundantly clear how much he detested my presence in his school.

"I was, yes, but that is no excuse," Silas insisted, and I forced myself to focus back onto the current conversation instead of worrying about Wil's meeting with McCoy. "I think that I have grown so accustomed to your presence in such a short space of time that, in the moment, it never crossed my mind."

"Um..." was all I could manage. I had been hoping, had been desperate for someone to say something like that to me for so long but, now that the words were being uttered, I had no answer. I felt my face warm slightly and a slight, pleasant tingle creep down my spine, but I could think of nothing to say in response. The only thought flashing through my mind was that he wasn't pushing me away. He, maybe, actually liked me being around. It was almost too good to be true!

"As for what happened," Silas continued, undeterred by my crippling lack of social skills. "I couldn't talk him out of giving you manual." He paused for a moment to consider his words, and then clarified. "Manual labour that is; also known as work detail. It's our version of detention, since forcing us to do classwork isn't a particularly effective deterrent for some of us. Anyway, I'm sorry about that. I tried to convince him to blame Gabriel instead but he wouldn't listen." He frowned, the corners of his mouth twisting down, like his failure to defend me had bothered him deeply.

"It's fine," I insisted, smiling up at him in a way that I hoped looked somewhat reassuring. "I don't want Gabriel to get into trouble for me." Silas frowned deeper at my words, so I hurried on to try and appease the giant of a man. "What happened after that, then? Why did he look so annoyed?" Annoyed was an understatement. We both knew it and Silas couldn't help but grin as we simultaneously pictured the man's face.

"He knew he couldn't force me out physically, so he told me to leave or he'd call the campus guards to _make_ me leave," Silas said, after a few moments of silence. He seemed oddly amused by the concept, so I asked the logical question.

"Who are the campus guard?"

"This afternoon, Nate and Kota, I believe," he told me gleefully. I thought I recognised the name of one of his other, as yet elusive brothers but, as I opened my mouth to ask, he confirmed my suspicions. "I would love to have seen McCoy's face when my own family turned up to 'detain' me."

He made little quotation marks around the word and I giggled, unable to stop myself. The gesture was so childlike and innocent that, at that moment, Silas' whole persona altered in my mind's eye. Just for a split second, I could picture him as a young boy chasing around with his family, playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians on the grassy, open spaces of the campus before me. I felt a sharp pang of unrequited loss as I envisioned a childhood so similar to the one I had often dreamed up for myself, but squashed those feelings down quickly. I didn't want to taint the moment with my own insecurities. I wouldn't let myself.

"So, what did you do?" I asked breathlessly, all of a sudden eager to hear his answer. I assumed that McCoy hadn't attempted to call in reinforcements, since Silas had left of his own volition, but the anger on the other man's face strongly implied that more had happened. Admittedly, I wasn't particularly experienced in conflicts with teachers, but I didn't think you'd get chased by one so aggressively just for leaving quietly, even if that teacher had it out for you.

"Well..." Silas actually looked sheepish and unsure of himself for a moment as he watched me to gauge my reaction. "I, sort of... laughed in his face and then broke his desk," he finished in a rush. His body got really still, as if tensed and ready to react to whatever I said next. He actually seemed slightly nervous of how I might respond, although I had no idea why.

"What?" I exclaimed, not even attempting to hide the shock from my face. My eyes got really wide as I stared up into his stoic, unfathomably handsome face, and my breath caught in my throat. "Why would you do that?"

"Why not?" Silas shrugged casually, grinning at me once again. He seemed relieved by my reaction for some reason. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve that reaction, but I was glad I had. "It was a bit of a surprise to me too, if I'm honest. I don't normally do things like that." He raised one, gently swinging hand to the back of his neck, scratching at it absently as he explained. "I just channelled my inner North and Nathan..." He paused. "Wait, that didn't come out like I meant it to."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I understood the gist of his explanation. He'd broken a table – a feat so staggering on its own that would take a long time before I considered it natural for anyone – and he'd done it defending my honour.

"You didn't need to go in there for me," I said softly, and he shifted the gaze of his deep, brown eyes back to mine. "I don't mind taking the punishment." I froze, sudden panic seeping into me as I remembered McCoy's instructions regarding my punishment. "I need to go back! I was supposed to get a detention slip from the receptionist." I started to turn back in the direction we'd come from, from where we were stood side-by-side blocking the pathway, but Silas caught my arm before I could move a single step.

"Wait! Please, just wait a second." I did as he asked and stopped moving, my attention now almost solely focused on the heat of his fingers bleeding through my shirt into my upper arm. "I can get it for you later. I need to go and pick up mine, so I can get yours as well."

"Yours?"

"Mine," he said matter-of-factly, like it was the most logical and natural thing in the world. "McCoy gave me labour too!"

"No," I breathed, mortified. I couldn't believe that I was responsible not only for Silas losing his temper but for him being punished too. "I need to fix this. I'll go and ask Master McCoy to give me double the time. I'll... I'll..." I didn't have any idea what I was going to do but I knew that, somehow, I needed to make this right. I couldn't have Silas take the blame for my actions, any more than I would want Gabriel to shoulder responsibility for what happened in the art studio.

"I wanted to," Silas told me quickly. I froze again, confusion spreading across my face as I tried to make sense of what he was saying. "I did it so that you wouldn't need to do it alone."

I swallowed hard. I felt the start of a solitary tear prick at the corner of my eye and sniffed gently to try to retain my composure. I couldn't comprehend why this boy I barely knew would do something like that for me, but I was overwhelmed by gratefulness at the gesture. I had no idea what work detail... what hard labour looked like, but I knew that I was infinitely more likely to survive it with Silas' help.

Silas' phone vibrated loudly in the hip pocket of his jeans and he pulled it out quickly, letting go of my arm to grasp it with both hands, peering down at the screen before grinning at whatever he saw projected there. He spun the phone around in his fingers and pushed it towards me, gesticulating with the device a few times before I realised that he wanted me to take it from him.

I stepped forward, holding both gloved hands underneath the phone so he could place it into my cupped, outstretched palms. He let it fall gently into my grasp and I curled my thumbs around the edges to ensure I wouldn't accidentally drop or damage the expensive-looking piece of technology. I avoided touching the screen, so that I wouldn't mess anything up, and peered carefully at the illuminated words at the centre. I read the words carefully twice then handed it back, my mind whirling with the implications.

 **North: Luke and I just set fire to one of the park benches on the quad. We're in!**

 **Luke: Boom town! 100% effective. :P**

"I don't understand," I told Silas as he started to flip his phone casually, end on end, between his forefinger and thumb. I actually thought that I did understand what Silas' two brothers had just done, but I wanted to be sure. I could feel the tears welling up even more intensely now and, if I was going to bawl my eyes out, I wanted to be sure that I wasn't mistaken. It was such an unfathomable situation that a part of me was sure I must be.

"There will be at least four of us on work detail this week," Silas confirmed. I sniffed again, then my breath hitched as I felt the first hot, salty tear slip down my cheek. "We won't let you be alone."

"Why would they do that for me?" I asked, unable to stop the deluge of tears now. Silas looked panicked and taken aback, not quite sure how to deal with the sudden onslaught of emotion on my part. He stretched out his free hand to me hesitantly, before dropping it back to his side again. "Did you... did you ask them to do that? I can't ask you guys to do that for me?"

My voice sounded garbled and undecipherable even to my own ears, so I couldn't be sure that Silas could even hear me. He tapped his phone a few more times, then lifted it to his ear. He listened for a couple of seconds, then held the phone back out to me again.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" I took the phone and held it up to my ear like I'd just seen Silas do. I couldn't stop sniffling and crying, but I managed to squeak out a pathetic sounding hello.

"What's wrong, little one?" Luke's warm, compassionate voice echoed through the receiver into my ear and I instinctively pressed the device closer to my skin so I could hear him more clearly.

"I'm... I'm fine," I managed to mumble, as I pressed the forefinger of my free hand to my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. "Please tell me you didn't get yourselves into trouble for me?" Keeping my eyes shut tightly seemed to be helping keep the tears at bay, so I remained that way. I could feel Silas' heavy gaze on me as I listened to Luke's voice through the phone, but he didn't speak.

"Aw, Sang," Luke said softly. I could feel each breath he took, rattling the receiver of the phone. His breathing was slow and steady, in direct contrast to my own. "Please don't cry. Not over silly old us!"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, and I heard the tell-tale sound of him chuckling on the other end. I felt the barest hint of a smile creep up my cheeks at the beautiful, carefree sound. He certainly didn't sound angry at me, which filled me with hope.

"You don't ever need to apologise to me, Sang." He matched my hushed tone, before I heard a scuffling, crunching sound come over the speaker. "Shut up, North! _I'm_ talking to Sang" I heard Luke say, while I could barely make out the low growl of North's voice in the background. Luke sighed. "North says to stop crying or he'll beat Silas up for you."

"Yes, sir," I said, my smile growing at the thought of North trying wrestle the phone from Luke. I swiped at my nearly dry cheeks, opening my eyes to see that Silas was watching me closely. He seemed to visibly relax as his face swam into focus, as if reassured I wasn't about to fall apart in front of him. "Tell North I'm fine now."

I heard Luke relay my message and then I thought I could hear other voices start to join in, in the background.

"Tell Trouble I turned Greg's hair green!" I heard Gabriel's voice from what sounded like a mile away. I full-on belly laughed at that, and asked Luke to let Gabriel know I'd heard him. I relayed the news to Silas too, who had thus far been waiting patiently, and was rewarded by Silas doubling over in silent laughter.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, Luke, but why are you guys all doing this for me?" I asked again, suddenly sober once more. I needed to understand!

"How could we not, little one," Luke answered without hesitation. There was no thought, no delay, nothing but the raw truth as he spoke, and it made my heart pound and my spirit soar. "You're one of us now, and we look after our family."

"I don't know how to thank you all," I said breathlessly, realising too late that I was in danger of releasing the flood barrier on my emotions again. "You barely know me..."

"Trust me, Trouble," Gabriel's voice echoed in my eardrum again, sounding much closer now. "We know you well enough!"

I mumbled another awkward thank you to Luke and Gabriel, hyper aware by this point that I was probably on some kind of speakerphone, then hung up and passed the device back to Silas.

"Sorry I freaked out on you," I apologised, but Silas shrugged it off with a lazy smile.

"Luke told you that you didn't need to apologise to us, ever!" he told me firmly. I thought absently that he must have excellent hearing to know that. "I agree with that idea wholeheartedly. I hope you're not upset that we wanted to do the work detail with you. We only wanted to help."

"I'd never be upset about that," I answered honestly. I didn't think I could even start to be annoyed at these wonderful boys, even if I wanted to. They had done so much for me, just by being there, and I would be in debt to them for the rest of my life for helping me to see what friendships could be like. Oh, now I was going to start crying again!

"Let's go and do something, while we've still got the light!" Silas exclaimed, seeing the glistening in my eye and interpreting it correctly as something he wanted to avoid at all costs. "We _were_ going to play some ball, if I remember correctly." I had to think hard to remember the conversation in question. Although it had only been a couple of hours since we'd been interrupted out by the baseball diamond, so much had happened since then.

"You were going to show me your power, right?!" I asked excitedly, all thoughts of tears or distress wiped clean from my mind at the prospect.

"I'd be happy to," Silas agreed, as he held out his hand to me like he had done the first time. I took it, and he started to lead me back the way we'd come. I didn't know where the sports centre was from our current position – not knowing exactly where _we_ were was a distinct disadvantage – so I contented myself with following Silas. He made sure to keep pace with me this time, meaning that I could walk close beside him instead of several steps behind.

"Oh," Silas added, as we made our way down the slightly muddy walkway. "Don't be surprised if you have at least seven helpers tomorrow for work detail."

"But the others haven't even met me yet," I mused. I could kind of understand North or Gabriel or Luke wanting to help me, if I really thought hard about it, but I didn't know why Nathan or Victor – or Kota, for that matter – would want to put themselves out for my sake. Maybe it was a family obligation or something.

"Not because they haven't wanted to, aggele," Silas informed me, with a knowing smirk. "We've just been more fortunate. You'll meet them soon enough, and then they'll adore you as much as we do."

I was still processing Silas' words when we arrived at the baseball diamond for the second time in as many hours. We slipped in through the gap in the high fence and Silas collected a ball, mitt and bat from a storage cage next door to the towering digital scoreboard. The board was dark and inactive right now but, as I gazed around at the vast space, complete with bleachers, stands, dugouts and practice cages, I could imagine that the atmosphere in here during a game – when the scoreboard would be blazing bright in the afternoon sun – would be electric.

I'd seen a few games on the old, second-hand television in the family room of my parents' house, when everyone else had been asleep or otherwise occupied. Or, on the rare occasions in my early childhood when my father had remembered I existed, we'd watched a few games together. So, when Silas stepped up into the batter's box, I understood that what he was doing. I didn't, however understand what he expected me to do as he handed me the glove and ball.

"Do you know how to pitch?" he asked me.

"I'm completely useless at anything involving hand-eye coordination," I admitted apologetically. I knew the logistics of the mechanism, but gym classes at school had outlined in explicit detail for me over the years just how useless I was at competitive – or recreational – sport.

"Never mind." I hated to disappoint Silas, especially when he had assured me that this would be the perfect way for him to demonstrate his powers, but, if he expected me to be able to pitch the ball to him, disappointment was exactly what he would get. "Just head out into the diamond and trust me. You'll make the throw."

He sounded so unerring convincing that I just nodded, hoping I wasn't about to humiliate myself in front him after everything he'd just done for me, and headed out into the stadium until I reached the pitcher's mound. I tossed the ball into the air a few times, preparing for the worst, then looked back to see Silas waiting for me to make myself comfortable.

"What now?" I called out. My voice was shaky and uneven, anxiety rising in my chest as I examined the sheer distance that stretched between us. There was no way I could make half of that distance.

"I bet..." Silas said slowly. A stiff breeze whipped up around me as he spoke the words and I felt a surge of energy crackle through the air around my body. "...that you can make your first pitch."

"Not a chance," I whispered, not wanting to let him know how scared I was. There was an ethereal crack from somewhere behind me, and a sense of finality resonated through my being. I didn't know what had just happened, but it felt like I had just signed a contract. I guessed that it had something to do with Silas' powers, but I couldn't fathom what it might be.

"Don't think about it, just go for it!" Silas urged me. I nodded and flashed him a thumbs up. Come on, Sang. You can at least try!

I glanced down at my feet and planted them firmly beneath me. It wouldn't do me any favours if I fell on my butt before I even attempted to throw the ball. I sucked in a deep, calming breath, pulled my arm back over my shoulder like I thought I'd remembered the professional athletes do, then launched the ball toward Silas with all my might.

"Home run!" There was a loud pinging noise as his bat connected squarely with the ball, and then Silas was whooping excitedly. The ball soared away into the stands as he dropped the bat into the dirt and set off at a sprint. I thought for a moment that he might actually be planning on running all the bases, but then he changed course and headed straight for me. "Well done, Sang!"

"How did I do that?" I asked incredulously. He had to have done something to my aim, or my strength, or something, but he'd been nowhere near me.

"Beginners luck?" he offered, but there was no real doubt in his voice. He knew exactly what had just happened and he was just being nice to me.

"Fat chance." I snorted at the idea. "Seriously, though. What did you do?"

"Okay, okay!" he confessed with a sly grin. "You know I'm the manifestation of Nike, right?" I nodded, not wanting to interrupt him. "Well, if I make a wager, it's almost impossible for me to lose."

"Wait, you can't lose a bet?" I interpreted. He nodded, shrugging modestly again as his long arms swung restlessly at his sides. I could almost feel the raw power and energy rolling off him, now that he was so much closer to me. I could tell from the healthy glint in his eye that Silas belonged on a baseball field, no matter who said he wasn't allowed to compete, and the love he had for the game was unmistakable. It was like I was just now seeing a new, unfiltered side to him, and it was a great fit. He seemed to come alive in a new way just by stepping foot inside the stadium.

" _Almost_ never, yeah," he said. I noted the slightly strange inflection on the word almost, but I let it go for now. I was quickly learning that, with these boys, it was better to let them offer the information when they were ready. "I have to be able to vocalise the wager though, or it doesn't work."

"So you can't just think about something and then make it happen." It wasn't a question. I was simply trying to figure things through in my head. "Doesn't that still make you basically all-powerful then?" I asked, genuinely curious. He seemed, like every other person on Earth, to have his own struggles, as did the rest of his family. Whilst I had no intention of prying where I wasn't wanted, I could help but wonder why a man who could achieve anything wouldn't remove all hardships in his path.

"Not exactly," Silas explained. His eyes were still dancing with the thrill of the home run he'd just nailed, but his expression was serious and sombre as a funeral. "I need a second person to accept my wager for it to work; if I'm isolated from others, I'm powerless. And I can't alter perception or emotion. I can't make someone fall in love with me, for example." I nodded. That made sense. "I also can't perform the impossible. I can't stop death by just wagering that you'll survive."

"Has that ever come up?" I half-joked, a small smile lifting the corners of my lips.

"You'd be surprised," he said sadly. My face dropped.

"I'm sorry," I said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. It was a long time ago." He quickly moved the conversation along. "There are a few people that my powers don't seem to affect," he explained. "I wondered if you might have been one of them, all things considered, but I'm guessing that's not the case."

"Clearly," I agreed. Almost immediately, another thought occurred to me and I frowned, opening my mouth before Silas could move on again. "I don't see why I would need to be so careful around you. I mean, I get that you have a hugely powerful ability that I barely understand, but I don't see why it would be so much worse for me to touch you than Luke, for example."

"I don't fully understand it myself," Silas admitted. "I know about as much as you about this, but I'll try to explain." He thought for a moment. "So, with Luke, his illusions become corporeal when you make contact, right?"

"As far as I know."

"Right! Well, as well as I understand his abilities, he has to concentrate hard on what he wants to create in order for it to manifest itself for him. For me, though, it's as easy as speaking the words. I have think carefully about how I phrase the wager before I make it, so it doesn't backfire or hurt anyone, but it is out of my control once the other person accepts the bet verbally, like you did."

"But you didn't hear me say the words, did you?" I wouldn't have been surprised if he informed me that he had supercharged hearing, given that he'd overheard Luke on the phone earlier, but the distance combined with my whispering made it seem rather farfetched in this situation.

"I didn't need to," he continued, watching me face intently as he spoke. He looked like he was preparing to watch me run away. I felt the need to assure him I was staying but I knew I would never be able to find the words. "Once the deal is offered, I can't take it back. My part in the exchange is done."

"How do I factor into it?" I asked again, still not clear on how I could mess this particular power up for him.

"We don't know exactly, yet," he explained. "Which is why, at least until we know more, we need to be careful. If you affect my abilities in a similar way to Luke's, you could cancel out the need for agreement... or maybe even the need for me to speak the words at all. That one would be a nightmare!"

"Because you could do things without anyone knowing?"

"That's one problem," he conceded. "I'm more worried about my control. I can't control what I think or feel and, if suddenly I could make things happen just by thinking them, I could hurt someone by accident. Or worse!" he added, his brows furrowed as he considered the potential consequences. I thought I was starting to understand, but I hoped he would clarify his thoughts.

"Like what exactly?" I caught his gaze with my own and noticed that he looked pained and uncomfortable all of a sudden. The gleam in his eye was gone and I couldn't help but know that my questioning was the reason. "Don't answer that if you don't want to. I shouldn't have pressed you so much."

"No, it's fine. You need to know and I need to be able to remind myself, every time I feel the urge to just hug you!" He smiled sadly, as if pained by the prospect of not being able to do that. I wondered how often he hugged other people and whether he would have ever actually hugged me. Not that we had a choice, at least as it stood at the moment, but I couldn't help but wonder what could have been.

"An as example," he said after a moment or two. "Have you ever pictured something awful happening to someone, just because they've hurt you in some way or because you're having a bad day at school?" I thought about my father, my step-mother, Marie. I was sure I'd thought those things and worse about each of them, simply out of spite. I nodded. "Most people would think it when they're at their weakest, but would never wish it upon someone else for real." I hesitated. I wasn't so sure that I wouldn't have been happy to see my step-mother experience a taste of her own medicine for a change, but I could see Silas' point. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had been the one responsible for their pain. "Imagine if the two of us could make that happen, without a single word, completely by accident," he finished.

Now, finally, I understand their concern. I had been so ignorant, so blissfully unaware of the dangers as I enjoyed the butterflies in homeroom and the pink walls in the art studio. I remembered the warnings about Luke's powers. What if it had been something more harmful than a butterfly? I had subconsciously passed it off as fantasy, distant and detached, but Silas' words had brought everything into sudden, stark focus. I really was a disaster waiting to happen, a grenade waiting to explode. I was a danger to myself and everyone else around me.

I glanced down at my gloved hands, one of them tucked inside the brown baseball mitt, just to check that they were firmly pulled down over my palms. Once I was satisfied I was protected – and the rest of the Academy was safe from me – I glanced back up at Silas.

"I should stay away from all of you," I announced, accumulating all of my tumultuous thoughts into a single, simple truth.

"You should," Silas admitted, and the heavy, sorrowful weight in my chest pressed down hard, threatening to crush me. "But then life would be boring!" He grinned at me, throwing his arms out on either side of his body as if he were trying to sweep away all of the darkness and doubt seeping into my soul.

"But..." I started to say but he interrupted me, grabbing the hand that wasn't encased in leather and padding.

"No buts," he insisted, pulling me gently back towards the batter's box. "Let's play ball!" He paused, appearing to be deep in thought for a long moment, then he grinned down at me. "I bet you can't hit five balls in a row."

I imagined myself, bat in hand, staring down the barrel of the proverbial gun that would be Silas pitching to me. There was no chance I was going to hit one solitary ball, let alone five.

"You're on!"


	10. Chapter 10: Manifest Destiny

I waved over-enthusiastically to Silas, a cheesy smile spread wide across my flushed cheeks. He chuckled as he glanced once more over his shoulder, seeing me lean off the low, metal banister that wrapped around the building in order to keep his broad, retreating shoulders in view for just a few seconds longer. He raised his hand to return my wave once more, then continued down the path and out of my field of vision.

I sighed, my smile fading just a little, and then pulled myself back under the shade of the porch that hung low over the door to the Valkyrie dorm. Pushing off from the railing and reaching for the handle of the door that led inside, I couldn't help but shake my head at all of the warm, fuzzy feelings swirling around in my belly after my afternoon with Silas.

"Hey, Sang." My gaze flicked left as I let the door swing shut behind me, nodding politely in response to the greeting from a Valkyrie girl I'd seen on my floor, but hadn't really met.

"Hi," I replied quickly, before hurrying over to the large staircase that I was almost certain would take me back to my room. Inside I was thrilled that these girls seemed to have accepted me so quickly, but I didn't have time to talk. It was late – Silas had managed to occupy us both for far longer than I would have previously thought possible – and I had less than half an hour before I needed to find my way across to the dining room for dinner.

After a few minutes of trial and error, I figured out which of the three identical, second floor corridors led to room nine – my room. I fished an icy-blue crystal pendant, a smaller version of the master key Karen had shown me on that first day, out from under my shirt and tapped it once to the centre of the door. The frame glowed blue for a fraction of a second, then there was a soft click and the door swung open slightly. It surprised me every time. I thought I'd probably never get used to the unusual way people locked and unlocked doors here. Give me a normal, mundane key any day!

Stepping inside, I went immediately to my trunk – or Legacy, I reminded myself – at the base of my bed and pulled out some fresh, only-slightly-creased clothes. I didn't know what I was expected to wear to dinner, casual, formal or somewhere in between, so I decided to play it somewhat safe with a knee-length, pale pink skirt and a long sleeved, grey button-up. I needed to make sure I figured out how to do laundry here soon, I thought to myself as I headed into the en suite to change and tidy up my crazy, wind-swept hair in front of the mirror. I was wearing long sleeved shirts now as a matter of necessity, since short sleeved Sang was a walking disaster zone, and I didn't have more than a handful left. I had never been much for long sleeves before I'd been brought to the Academy, so my wardrobe was now sorely lacking in suitable clothing.

After I finished dressing, I quickly brushed through my hair with my fingers, easing out the loose, barely-fastened clip with a gentle tug. Most of my dirty blonde hair had fallen out and was dangling in limp waves framing my face, which I realised would have made me look ridiculous when I'd been playing baseball with Silas, but I couldn't bring myself to be too concerned. It had been the most relaxed, the most free and at ease I could ever remember being and I wasn't about to let my physical insecurities ruin my moment.

My cheeks flushed more, no longer just from the physical exertion, as I pictured the sweet, childlike glee on Silas' face as we had taken turns to pitch and strike the baseball. He had looked so youthful, so lit up from within that I hadn't wanted it to end, so we had continued to play until the light had started to bleed from the purple-blue sky. The sun had started to set as he had walked me back to my dorm room and it had made for the perfect end to an almost perfect day – I was determined not to let my brief encounter with the miserable McCoy ruin that!

Glancing over at the clock that hung on the bathroom wall above the sink, I was startled to see that it had been nearly ten minutes since I'd returned to the dorm. I needed to hurry, or I wasn't going to make it to dinner on time. Silas had asked me to promise that I'd sit next to him at their table for the evening meal, to which I'd gladly agreed, so I wasn't about to be late. I glanced back at my reflection in the mirror. I didn't have time to do anything with my hair or heated skin, so I simply swept the unruly strands back up into my clip and splashed some cool water onto my face.

Once I was happy that I didn't look like a complete mess, I headed back into my room. I had been planning on just grabbing a jacket, in case the evening got chilly, but I was almost immediately distracted by the two mysterious doors across from the one that led back into the bathroom. I hadn't opened either of them since I'd arrived, which was odd. I wondered for a moment why that was, before I finally realised that I hadn't really had the chance. Whilst this was, ostensibly, my room, I'd only slept in it for one night. The other two I'd spent in the infirmary, after I'd collapsed trying to help North.

Tugging open the first door, a narrow, wooden door, I flicked on the nearby light switch and found myself staring into a small, completely empty walk-in wardrobe. There were a few cubby holes set into the back wall, and a number of copper racks and rails at varying heights, but they were all void of hangers, clothing or belongings. I didn't know how long I would be using this room – since I was apparently clearly not a Valkyrie – so I thought it would probably be best not to unload anything into this closet until I was sure. I made a mental note to ask Karen when I saw her next.

Pushing the door closed, the bottom edge dragging slightly against the extra thick, shag carpet, it clicked satisfyingly. I turned to the second door, this one much wider and taller. It appeared to have a strange, metallic sheen to the white, painted surface and it was cool to the touch, even through the thin fabric of my gloves. I shuddered involuntarily as I gripped the thick, hefty door handle in my fingers and twisted.

There was no switch beside the door for this room, so I pulled the door open wide and peered inside curiously. In the faint glow cast by the bulbs set into the ceiling of the bedroom, I could make out a strange, shiny black substance appearing to coat the visible parts of the nearest wall and floor. The majority of the room was in shadow, so I couldn't make out how large it was, but it instinctively felt like, if I called out inside, it would echo for a long while before the sound faded away.

I pulled off one glove and reached a hand inside the room, reluctant to step too far inside without knowing what I might trip over. Pressing my palm to the wall, I was surprised to find the surface was soft and rubbery, indenting and flexing under my fingers. I felt along the wall a little further, coming across a number of small indentations that felt like eyelets, where the strange, rubbery padding was being held to the walls, until my fingertips finally struck something solid.

My fingers scrabbled around the object, which was held fast to the wall, until I could make out the unmistakable sensation of a thick metal chain slipping smoothly through my fingers. I followed the chain down the wall a short distance before I yelped as my fingers looped around a single, ice-cold manacle, and I jerked my hand back out and hugged it to my chest.

"Nope!" I muttered to myself, backing away from the entryway just far enough to be able to reach for the thick edge of the door and slam it shut. I didn't know what kind of horrors hid in the dark inside the weird, rubber-lined room, but I wasn't in a hurry to find out. I pushed against the heavy door to make sure it was firmly in place, then backed away slowly. For as long as I stayed here, if I had any say in it, that door was going to stay shut!

Shaking out my limbs, which felt like they were crawling with invisible spiders, I hurried over to my chest and pulled out a jacket. I slipped the single stray glove back over my exposed hand, checking carefully to make sure no part of my palms or wrists were exposed, then headed out into the corridor and back down the stairs. I had no idea what it might be used for and I was sure I didn't want to know but, if I never went anywhere near the rubber room again, it would still be a lifetime too soon.

I wasn't sure where I was going, as I followed a pair of younger, giggling girls out of the main entryway of the dormitory, but they stepped confidently onto the path and turned in the direction Silas had disappeared to. The sun was now almost completely hidden beyond the smooth slopes that rose up around the campus and the two young Valkyries were dressed nicely – yet smartly – like I might have expected for dinner, so I decided to take a risk and follow them. I stayed a few paces behind them, so it might not look like I was following too closely, but they either didn't notice or didn't care because they ignored me as they walked.

Thankfully, they soon came to a familiar looking fork in the path and, in the low light emanating from a number of gas lamps arcing above the pathway, I realised that we were, in fact, heading in the right direction. Since I was sure that, from here, I knew the way, I backed up a bit more and the two girls disappeared into the evening shadows round a bend in the path.

Less than five minutes later, the building that housed the dining room loomed up out of the twilight and I almost walked straight into a wall. I stumbled as it came out of nowhere and flung out a hand to save myself. For once, there were no handsome manifests to catch me, so I pressed a gloved hand to the brick wall and steadied myself. I had been distracted by my thoughts and hadn't realised I'd been so close to the edge of the path as it straightened out to skirt to edge of the low building until it was too late.

"What a loser!" My head snapped up from the brickwork in front of me at the loud, brash exclamation and I glanced over to see that my misstep had attracted a small audience. Two tall, brutish-looking teenagers, who I would guess were close to my own age, sniggered behind clenched fists as they stared at me. I stepped away from the wall to face them, when I noticed a third person, a girl, pointing at me with a single, extended finger. The speaker, I guessed, since the voice had been a bit high-pitched for two such gruff guys.

The girl was stood slightly behind her companions, hence why I hadn't immediately noticed her, but she was certainly worthy of a second – and a third – look. She was devastatingly beautiful – perhaps a distant relative of the twins who had served as my orientation guides when I had first arrived. Her hair was black, glossy and thick in a way that mine never would be, and her cheekbones were as enviable as Gabriel's. In fact, she would have been near perfection, if it wasn't for the haughty scowl that graced her flawless face.

"Oh shit," the boy on her left muttered. As I turned and re-joined the path, determined to try to ignore their ridicule, he turned to his companions and started to nudge the other boy with his elbow. "That's her, dude. North will be pissed if he finds out we said anything to her." The girl snorted, her eyes sweeping swiftly over me from head to foot, before seeming to dismiss me like I wasn't worth the time it would take her to observe me further.

"My North won't pay any attention to the little klutz," she spat out venomously, stalking over to the open door that led inside and flicking her long hair over her shoulder as she moved. "I've told you before. He's mine." I ceased my own movement, watching as she swept inside and left her two friends behind. They each glanced over at me hesitantly, before exchanging a pointed look and hurrying after her.

"My North?" I muttered to myself, as I waited a few minutes to ensure they were clear of the hallway before I entered. I wondered who she was, to talk about him that way. It was a fairly unique name, so I assumed she was talking about the same guy. He hadn't mentioned a girlfriend to me, but I guessed that he probably hadn't had much need to so far. We still didn't know each other that well, after all, and there was still a lot I didn't know about them. She didn't seem to be very nice, from what I had seen, but maybe I was mistaken. There had to be some reason why North was with her, right?

That was enough time, wasn't it? I waited a few more seconds, then walked quickly over to the doorway the three of them had disappeared through. As I reached the entrance, a bulky, shadowy silhouette that looked oddly out of place caught my eye. Peering into the growing darkness, I noticed a bench on the opposite side of the pathway. It was positioned between the beams of two different lamps, so it was not clearly visible, but I could tell that it didn't look quite right.

I crossed over the path to take a closer look and couldn't hold back the shaky, uneasy laugh that burst from my lungs as I realised what I was seeing. The far edges of the bench looked normal but, as my gaze was drawn towards the centre, the bench was collapsed in on itself and faded into a sooty blackness. The wooden beams that made up both seat and table sections were cracked and broken, blackened and shrivelled by flame, and there was a halo of scorched grass and earth spreading out from beneath the exact centre. I knew immediately what had caused the damage. Luke and North!

"Why?" I whispered, turning back to towards the dining room and shaking my head. I'd asked myself the same question several times that afternoon, but Silas had reassured me each time that it was because they wanted to help me. After the fifth time, I had even started to believe him, but hearing it and seeing the evidence were two different things. This was insanity, that they would even consider doing something like that for me.

I wondered what North's girlfriend thought about him destroying campus property for me.

"Here, Sang." Gabriel was out of his seat, pulling out the seat between him and Luke before I had made it halfway down the aisle towards the table. I managed to walk the remaining distance at a measured pace, certain that if I skipped like I wanted to I would end up with food all over myself and the people on the nearby tables. Smiling gratefully at him, I placed my tray down between theirs and started to sit, before remembering my promise to Silas.

"I was supposed to sit with Silas," I told him apologetically. His face dropped, but he didn't look particularly surprised.

"I know," he said, glancing over at his brother with an uncomfortable expression on his face. Luke sighed and twisted around in his seat to focus his eyes on my face, rather than on Gabriel's.

"Silas missed the family meeting earlier," Luke explained. "We had some..." He paused, as if searching for the right words.

"Bad news?" Gabriel offered. Luke nodded, then continued.

"Yeah. We had some unfortunate news, but Silas didn't know until he got back from dropping you off. When he found out, he was..."

"Upset," Gabriel took over, as if they were telepathically linked. I doubted it but, then again, there was a lot I didn't know about their world yet. "He needed some time alone to process the news. North went with him to make sure he didn't..." He broke off, looking troubled, and this time Luke didn't take over immediately.

"Make sure he didn't do anything he'd regret," I said slowly, already knowing the end. The two boys nodded in agreement and I felt my good mood slip a little further from reach. Between this and the girl from outside, the peace and contentment from my afternoon with Silas was beginning to dim and vanish before my eyes. "I'm sorry about the bad news."

"Don't worry about him or us," Gabriel insisted, not noticing the shift in my mood or the subtle tensing of the skin around my lips and brows. "We'll be fine. Now, come sit next to us and eat. You must be hungry."

Not really, I thought to myself. I had been only moments ago, having filled my tray with fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Now I would be lucky if I could force myself to eat a single bite, but I wasn't about to bring Gabriel any more grief than he was already so clearly carrying. He and Luke were subdued and the mood flat, more serious than I'd seen them before, but they were trying hard to make pleasant conversation with me. The least I could do was help out by playing along.

"Now, Trouble," Gabriel began, after I had seated myself and picked up my fork. "How was your afternoon?" I pushed a piece of chicken across my plate absent-mindedly as I thought for a moment, then started from the beginning.

"Did you really turn Greg's hair green?" I asked curiously, as I neared the end of my monologue about my afternoon with Silas. As I had spoken, the mood at the table had seemed to shift noticeably. The tension and palpable frustration that had been hanging over us like a pall was slowly dissipating, and Luke had even cracked a smile a few minutes ago. It was enough to get me to continue, in the hopes that I might see the happy, carefree boys I was coming to know emerge, if just for a moment.

"See for yourself," he chuckled, leaning over towards me so he could point subtly at a table across from us, a few removed from the centre, without anyone seeing. I tracked the direction he pointed until I finally caught sight of what looked like a patch of freshly mown grass, poking up from behind a brunette girl sipping coffee like it was oxygen.

"What am I looking at?" I asked, peering in confusion as the clump of grass, spotted with wild flowers, appeared to move before my eyes. Then I gasped in surprise, as the girl shifted to refill her cup and I realised that the grass was sprouting straight out of the top of a thick, lightly-tanned scalp. "Oh my God!"

Gabriel grinned as my jaw dropped. He reached around to nudge Luke, who had been chewing on a piece of steak thoughtfully as he listened to my story. He looked over to see what we were watching, then dropped his cutlery onto his tray and swung an arm around my shoulders.

"That's nothing, little one," he teased, shifting in his seat so I swayed gently from side to side. "Did you see the bench?" I tore my eyes from the back of Greg's foliage – damn, it looked so real! – and glanced at Luke in time to see him wink at Gabriel over the top of my head. His brother snorted with laughter, shoving Luke's hand off my shoulder. It slid down my back and landed with a sharp, painful-sounding slap against the side of Luke's chair, then Gabriel snaked his own arm around my shoulders, careful to avoid his bare forearm coming into contact with my neck.

"I did," I informed Luke, who rubbed at his arm and glared half-heartedly across at Gabriel. "I still can't believe you did that!"

"Any time," Gabriel answered for him, before Luke had even had time to open his mouth.

"Any time, what?" an unfamiliar deep, musical voice floated over me from behind us. I didn't turn, all too conscious of the proximity of my hairline to Gabriel's exposed flesh, but every impulse in my body urged me to greet the owner of this new voice.

I knew the exact moment he stepped up behind me because I was no longer in the dining room. I was surrounded by soaring mountains to the north and a flat, swampy wetland to the south-east. The earthy, warm scent of moss and wild grass filled my nose as I breathed in deep, no longer hesitant of the experience I was apparently having with each new member of this powerful family. I could smell wild berries too, I realised, although I couldn't pinpoint which shrub or tree they were wafting up from. It was such a peaceful place and such a comforting smell that I didn't ever want to leave, but inevitably voices from around me wrenched me from my vision.

"Hey, Vic." Luke said the words so casually that, even though I didn't recognise the voice or the nickname, I knew who it had to be. This had to be Victor, one of the three family members I had yet to meet. Silas had told me a bit about him this afternoon but, now that I was about to meet the guy behind the stories, my mind went blank.

"Hey," the voice answered, then I was greeted by a familiar sight as the boy moved around to the opposite side of the table and slid into the seat directly opposite my own. He was looking down, so I couldn't really see his face, but his nose looked angular and straight and his cheekbones soft, yet defined.

His hair was brown and sleek, smoothed back so that no strays brushed his forehead. It was longer than I would have expected too, sweeping the nape of his neck in gentle waves, just a few inches short of Gabriel's length from what I could see straight on. His shoulders were square and strong, yet his entire torso was slimmer and leaner than the taller boys, and his fingers, where they played with a silver medallion at his throat, were long and slender. He looked to me like he might be an artist, like Gabriel, from first appearances, but I obviously couldn't know for sure. What I did know, however, was that I had definitely seen him before.

"Why do I know you?" I whispered to myself, trying to figure out where I'd seen him before. From the reaction my olfactory senses had to his arrival, we'd clearly never been in close proximity before, and I thought I would have remembered that meeting at any rate. However, he was definitely familiar. There was just something missing, something hidden from my memory.

His eyes snapped up as I spoke and I was met by a pair of deep brown eyes that appeared to glow from within with some kind of unearthly fire. I had never believed it until this moment but right now, staring into this boy's eyes, I knew that the phrase 'fire in their eyes' had found a home with Victor. The heat of his gaze was almost overwhelming and I fought the urge to look away.

"Excuse me?" he asked and I noted, as I tore my gaze from his eyes, that he looked confused. "What did you say?" Oh, oops! I hadn't intended him to hear me; I'd forgotten about their excellent hearing, yet again. I really needed to learn not to articulate my thoughts out loud with these guys, for my own sanity.

"Sorry," I told him quickly. "You looked familiar, but I think I remember now." The realisation had just come to me, so abruptly that it surprised me. "You were in here the first day I arrived. At breakfast," I added, feeling foolish for trying to explain it to this gorgeous being. He obviously wouldn't have remembered me, even if his eyes, as they had so effortlessly seared into my soul that day, had stuck with me. He probably wouldn't have even noticed me.

"I remember," he said after a moment. "I saw you."

"Oh!" was all I could manage to squeak as my face flushed once again. It was starting to become an occupational hazard around these people.

"Of course you did," Gabriel started to say, but Victor cut him off with a single, heavy glance.

"I saw you before that," he continued, and I frowned.

"I don't understand," I admitted. Glancing over at the other two boys, I could see that they didn't either.

"I mean that I saw you," he repeated, stressing the word like it would help me to understand his meaning. I heard Gabriel and Luke make identical noises of understanding and comprehension on either side of me but I must have looked confused still, because Victor continued. "I sometimes see things before they happen. The week before you arrived, I saw your face several times."

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Vic?" Luke exclaimed, pushing himself up out of his seat with a hand flat against the surface of the table, as if he might try to reach for the other boy. Victor shrugged apologetically at his brother, but didn't look too concerned about it.

"I see fragments all the time. It never means anything, so I thought it was just a dream..." he paused, fixing me with an intense stare. "Until she arrived." I vaguely remembered Kota mentioning Victor's telepathic abilities but hearing about it from the person who wielded it – and him having seen me – was more than a little disconcerting.

"What else have you seen?" Gabriel asked, sounding more animated than he had been since I'd arrived at the table. I guessed that, since Victor didn't have visions that often, he must be curious.

"Not much," Victor told him, not taking his eyes off me. I smiled at him, trying to act friendly and relaxed, but his words had freaked me out more than I wanted to admit. "I saw a man last night. I only saw his face, but he looked like he was in pain!"

"Show me," Gabriel told his brother, lifting his plate and cutlery off his tray and handing them off to me before extending a hand to Victor. The other boy took it, gripping on tightly and focusing his attention on Gabriel for a brief moment before his eyes fluttered shut. Gabriel began to hum softly, a soft, lilting tune that lacked a melody, then reached out to press the index finger of his free hand onto the tray in front of him.

"What is he...?" I turned to Luke and started to ask what was going on, but Luke pressed a finger to his lips to silence me.

"Sshhh!" he whispered. "Gabriel is channelling Victor's thoughts through Victor's telepathic link."

"It only works with Victor, for some reason," Gabriel muttered, dropping Victor's hand and picking up his tray to examine it. "It's not very useful most of the time. Does anyone recognise this man?" He twisted the plastic rectangle around so that Luke and I could see it and I gasped in horror. It couldn't be!

"What is it?" Victor asked, focusing on the fear spreading across my face, draining me of colour.

"That's my dad!"

The boys proceeded to do that silent communication thing they favoured over my head as they tried to figure out how best to address this latest development. For once, their reticence to involve me didn't bother me, since my mind was still reeling from the shock of the revelation. I wasn't about to pretend that my father and I were close, but Silas had been right earlier. I would never want to see the man in pain, despite everything that had happened between us. The thought of him being harmed – or worse – chilled me to my bones and I sat numbly, watching them deliberate

"You should take this to Master B," Gabriel said eventually, after several tense minutes of silent exchange between the three of them. Victor simply nodded, piled his stuff onto his tray and stood up to leave. He was actually several steps away from the table, striding down the aisle towards the exit, when he paused and turned back. He paused, as if considering his actions carefully, before returning and dumping his tray beside Gabriel's.

"What are you...?" I asked, but Victor was already vaulting up on top of the table with a push of his powerful arms. Once he was sat atop the huge, wooden surface, he looked down at me and smiled softly.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Sang," he told me gently, surprising me for a moment by knowing my name before I realised that he would have been told it by one of his brothers. "Master Blackbourne and I will do everything we can to figure it out but, first, there's something I need to do. I guess I've just not been bad enough today... yet. Can be the only one slacking, can I?"

With a mischievous grin, making me smile despite myself, he pushed himself up until he was standing up on the table between myself and Gabriel. I felt Luke shift at my elbow, before he reached over to grab Victor's ankle.

"Are you sure you want to do this, brother?" he asked, staring up at the determined-looking Victor. The brown-haired boy stared down at us, rebellion flashing in his brown eyes, and nodded.

"Absolutely!" He was already quickly gaining the attention of the students around us but, when he started to speak, his low voice crystal clear and projecting effortlessly throughout the entire, vast room, everyone stopped what they were doing to give him their undivided attention. Exactly as he was hoping, I suspected.

"It's a bit quiet in here, isn't it?" he exclaimed, he suddenly booming voice ricocheting off the walls and echoing back to my ears a moment later.

"Don't you dare, Mr Morgan!" Everyone, Victor included, turned to see a squat, sweaty-faced man striding purposefully towards our table, fury radiating from him in every direction. "I'll see that you get work detail for the rest of the school year."

"President Hendricks," Luke whispered in my ear at the same time as Victor looked down at us and winked.

"Worth it," Victor told the irate principal, then addressed the room again. "Let's hear them sing, kids."

He stretched his arms out wide, in a gesture that looked deliberately over-exaggerated and dramatic, and snapped his fingers once. At the loud sound, which echoed like a thunder crack, the room burst into noise as a hundred different, cacophonous noises started to ring out all at once. I spun around in my seat, trying to figure out where the sound was emanating from, when the students closest to us began to pull out their cell phones, cameras and other assorted electronic devices. Luke's pocket started to vibrate at my hip, an annoying klaxon blaring from his phone as he sat there grinning. I could hear something more musically pleasing ripping its way out of both Gabriel and Victor's phones – Gabriel's spinning slowly on the table beside him as it vibrated enthusiastically – but it was lost in the chaotic, seething wall of sound.

"Get down!" President Hendricks reached our table and grabbed Victor's pant leg, yanking hard enough to cause the boy to lose his balance for a second. He swung his arms out around him to steady himself and, at the exact moment his concentration broke, the hurricane of noise dropped to nothing as abruptly as it had begun. Hendricks pulled again, shifting his grip only when Victor moved towards him and started to jump down off the table.

"I'll find your father, Sang," Victor told me again, calling back over his shoulder as Hendricks started to stride off with the astonishing boy in his wake. He had Victor's shirt collar held tightly in his grasp, so that he couldn't do much more than glance back, but he managed to fix me with a solemn stare. "I promise."

The next day, for the first time in living memory, I was woken by an alarm clock. It was five in the morning, so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise, but I was perpetually used to being the first person up, rising before the dawn. This morning, the dawn was just a distant fantasy as I scrambled around to find fresh clothes and get a shower without disturbing anyone on my floor. I didn't want to be late for my first morning of detention – or work detail.

Thankfully, the communal bathroom was utterly abandoned at this hour and I was able to clean up and dress quickly, without attracting unwanted attention. As early a riser as I was, I was still not a happy morning person and I had good reason to be grumpy this morning. After Victor's dramatic exit last night, we had sat in companionable silence for a short time before I'd announced I wanted to be alone. Luke and Gabriel had let me leave without much protest and I'd then spent the next three hours trying to wrestle a solitary tear from my weary body.

I had eventually worn myself out and fallen asleep, fully clothed, on top of my covers. I guessed that Karen, or one of the other girls had left the clock, complete with pre-set alarm, on my bedside table, because I certainly hadn't had the presence of mind to set it. I would need to remember to thank them later.

As I towel dried my hair and stared at my pale face in the long mirror hung above the rows of sinks, I thought of my father. Seeing his face immortalised in the waxy plastic of Gabriel's tray had been a shock, that was for sure, but I didn't know how to feel now that the initial emotions had settled down. If I thought about family, I found that I no longer thought of him and my sister. Instead, when I closed my eyes and imagined home, I pictured Luke, North, Gabriel, Silas, Dr Green, Kota and Victor. There were even shadowy gaps in the image where I could insert Nathan and Master Blackbourne, as I pictured the scene in my mind's eye. I wasn't in the picture, not yet, but I could almost see where I might slot in between Victor and Kota in the centre. Kota would have turned, just before the picture was taken, to place a feather-light kiss on my cheek as I beamed directly at the lens...

I forced myself to stop thinking about that, before I got trapped inside my own mind. The image had felt way too real! I was a long way from that reality, I reminded myself, no matter how badly I wanted it to be true.

I quickly got myself ready and slipped down the main staircase and out into the darkness of the early morning. There was no sign of the sun starting to rise yet and it was chilly still. I started to rejoice – little happy dance and everything – that I had thought to slip on a jacket before leaving my room, when I heard a low chuckle from behind me.

"Good morning to you too." I froze at the sound of North's voice, the amusement dripping off each word as my arms found themselves suspended mid-flail. I was a horrible dancer, reserving my skills exclusively for when I knew I was alone, but the damage was already done.

"Morning, North," I mumbled, turning around to see him leaning casually up against the wall beside the door, watching me with a wry smile twisting up his lips at the corners. I realised after a few moments that my arms were still up around my head, letting them fall as I tucked my head down and tried to avoid looking directly at North.

"You ready to go?" he asked, mercifully not making mention of my humiliation. He pushed himself off from the wall with one huge, black boot and strode down the steps towards me leisurely. He caught my eye, despite my efforts, and a look of sympathy crossed his handsome face. "Luke told me what happened last night, by the way. I'm sorry."

"I'm fine," I told him truthfully. I was okay, I realised, if I thought deeply enough about it. There was nothing I could do about whatever might or might not be wrong with the man who had donated half of my DNA and, until that changed, I needed to try to live my life like nothing was wrong. "Where do we need to go?"

"Not sure," North admitted, shrugging non-committally. "None of us have ever had work detail before. Not without volunteering, I mean."

"Never?" I asked him, amazed. "Wow! Now I feel even worse!" I couldn't believe that I was going to be the cause of all of them having a permanent record. I supposed I ought to feel flattered but, instead, I just felt bad about it still.

"Nope. Don't worry about it, Sang baby." How was it these guys seemed to know me better than I knew myself? And he had just called me baby again. I didn't know what to think of that. Was it a normal nickname between friends? What would North's girlfriend think of him calling me that? "Anyway, we're meeting everyone else down by the main office building."

I couldn't think of a witty, or even vaguely coherent response to that announcement, so we walked in silence for a while before we rounded a bend and saw a medium sized group of people clustered together outside a building in the distance. Even this far away I could see Silas, towering almost a head taller than everyone else.

"There they are!" I told North enthusiastically. He just grunted, increasing the length of his stride a little but still managing to keep pace with me. I sped up a little, not wanting to hold him back too much, and he smiled down at me appreciatively.

"Morning, Trouble," Gabriel called to me when we were close enough for him not to have to wake half the campus to make himself heard. I waved at him, catching Victor's eye as I did so, but then frowned as I felt North stiffen beside me.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" he growled. I was confused for a second, before Kota shifted to the side and I caught sight of a swathe of silky black hair swept over a slender shoulder. It was the girl from last night, the one who had claimed North so decisively.

I looked up at North to see that he was now glowering irritably at the girl, his brows furrowed so much that I thought his eyes might disappear behind them. I wondered why she was here... and why North wasn't happy about it. Was it that he didn't want the rest of his family to know about them? Was it my fault? I hoped us arriving together wouldn't upset her.

"Finally," a harsh, aggressive woman's voice lifted over the group, and everyone fell silent. I couldn't see the speaker immediately, but North nudged my shoulder and inclined his head over to where two women stood, watching us approach. "Nice of you two to join us." I recognised the two of them as Diana and Celeste Murphy, the beautiful twins who had taken me to the Valkyrie dorm on my arrival at the Academy.

"Calm your ass," North snapped back. I blanched at the rudeness and disrespect in his voice, but didn't say anything. I wasn't about to do anything that might draw more attention to myself. The last thing I needed was to get into more trouble, even if North had a death wish.

"Morning to you too, Mr Taylor." The other twin spoke this time and the contrast between the two voices was as distinct as yin and yang, the tone light and breezy as she greeted my companion. This one must be Diana, I thought, remembering back to a few days ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but I could easily recall Celeste's perpetual scowl through everything. "Right, listen up. Dr Green?"

She stepped aside to allow a chipper, fresh-faced Sean to step up between her and her sister. Celeste looked less than thrilled, but contented herself to boring a hole in the back of Sean's head with her gaze. He sought me out in the crowd, flashing me a cheeky wink, before addressing the group.

"The three of us are on duty with you troublemakers this week, so behave or we'll..." He chucked to himself, seeming amused by his own thoughts. "Or we'll give you another week, I guess. At least three of you volunteered for this," his gaze flicked over to the black-haired girl and back to me so quickly I couldn't be sure it had happened, "so I'm not sure how much of a deterrent that will be, but try to make this easy of us."

"We want to be up at four thirty about as much as you, I'd expect," Diana spoke up jokingly, flashing Sean an easy smile, while Celeste just continued to glare at him. She looked for a second like she was stuck in that position, unable to do anything but stare daggers at him but, as Diana finished speaking, she looked over at me. I took a step back at the disgust and hatred in her eyes, but North's arm at my back stopped me from turning tail and running away.

"Exactly," Dr Green continued. "Now, let's walk and I'll talk." He stepped through the group, followed closely by the twins, and we parted like the red sea to let them pass. He chose a pathway I was sure I'd not yet taken and headed off at a healthy pace. North urged me forward to join the front half of the group, putting as much distance between us and the other girl as possible. Was he trying to keep me away from her? Or, maybe, to keep her away from me?!

"We're heading up to the old library," Sean told us as he marched uphill towards the far edge of campus. I was breathing hard as I struggled to keep up with the bracing pace, yet still somewhat proud of my progress given that it was shy of five in the morning. North tried to help, bracing me when I looked like I might trip over my own feet, but I was relieved when, a few minutes later, the pace slowed considerably. "As you'll see when we go in, previous work detail teams have made headway in stripping out the main areas ready to be repurposed, but there is a lot of work left to be done this week by you keen beans."

North snorted in derisive laughter at the light-hearted terminology, before catching me mid-face plant once again.

"Careful!" he muttered. I missed the next few words the doctor said as I struggled to maintain balance and avoid embarrassment, but eventually we came to a stop in front of the largest, one storey building I'd seen since I'd arrived. It was low, sprawling out in all directions, and I groaned inwardly at the prospect of attempting to navigate a vast, new, unknown place. I was going to be lost within seconds, if left alone.

Sean pushed open one of the squat double doors, gesturing for us all to file inside. I noticed that both Silas and North had to duck to navigate the doorframe, as did the statuesque twins. For once, I was quite glad to be the shortest person in the group.

Once we were inside, Sean led us through the gutted main entryway, which looked to be completely void of fittings, fixtures and decoration, and down a hallway deeper inside the library. We had to go single file on a couple of occasions, skirting around abandoned bookshelves and piles of papers and tattered books, but soon enough we made it into a room that looked like it had yet to be touched.

"Okay," Sean spoke up to get the attention of the room again. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to split you into three groups and put you on the jobs that need doing today. We'll switch up the jobs tomorrow so you don't get bored..."

"Not that it should make any difference," Celeste snapped. Sean sighed, rolling his eyes behind her back when she wasn't looking, but otherwise ignored the interruption.

"I need two people to volunteer to help me to deliver equipment and tools to the other teams in the building," he continued. North's girlfriend spoke up immediately, seeming to surprise everyone. I had almost forgotten she was there during the walk up here and, looking around at the others, I didn't think I was the only one.

"I'll do it. Want to help me, North?" The way she spoke made me feel uncomfortable, but I tried to ignore my misgivings for his sake. I would do my best to get along with her, especially if she was going to be around a lot this week.

"Jade," North started to say warily, glancing down at me with a pleading expression on his face. I figured he must be trying to ask my permission to go, although I didn't understand why, so I smiled over at her – Jade.

"You should help her, North," I agreed. I didn't miss the look of total shock that crossed her face as I spoke, but she quickly covered it up with a carefully crafted mask of ambivalence mixed with mild surprise.

"Great," Sean said slowly, almost warily. I looked over at him, hoping I hadn't said something wrong, but he was looking at North beside me instead, holding a brief, wordless conversation. After a second, he nodded. "Now, the rest of you need to split yourselves into demolition and decorating crews. I'll let you decide, but the groups should be roughly even if you want to get finished in time for breakfast."

He waved a hand at North and Jade, beckoning them to follow him out of the room, then he disappeared down the hallway. Diana and Celeste stayed with us, saying nothing as we all grouped together in the middle of the room to figure out who was going where.

"I want to do decoration," Gabriel announced almost immediately. I couldn't help but smile as he spoke up; of course he did!

"You will not be permitted to use your abilities, Mr Coleman," Diana piped up from behind him. "You will be painting the traditional way or not at all."

"Fair enough," he agreed with a shrug, not looking too surprised. Following his decision, the rest of the group split themselves off fairly easily. Silas and Luke opted to go for the option that would allow them to use heavy machinery, while Kota and Victor opted to join Gabriel in the slightly more dignified decorating option. Then they all turned, almost in unison, to look at me, as they waited for me to choose.

"I guess I'll do demolition, to even out the numbers," I said hesitantly, even though I wasn't sure how good I'd be at it. "I'll do my best." I glanced over at Luke who was grinning at me and wondered how long he'd be grinning when he realised how totally useless I would be with a drill.

"Wait, where's Nathan?" Gabriel started to say, but a loud crashing sound from back the way we'd come effectively cut him off.

"Hello?!" I jumped as an echo rippled down the gutted, nearly empty hallway and into the room we stood in. "Anybody home?"

"Down here, moron," Gabriel called, rolling his eyes at me before grinning and turning to face the open doorway. "It's about time!" I heard fast, heavy footsteps thundering down the corridor towards us; presumably Nathan's.

"Hope you didn't miss me too much, brother." My mouth fell open as the eighth member of the family appeared in the doorway, jogging into the room and then skidding to an abrupt halt as he caught sight of me. "Damn!"

He was huge. That was the first thing I noticed as we stared each other down. He wasn't as tall as Silas, or as intimidating as North, but his shoulders were impossibly broad and his red t-shirt stretched tight across a powerful chest. He had reddish-brown hair too, cropped short to frame a face set with an angular chin and jaw. His face was earnest, almost stern as he gazed at me with intense blue eyes, seeming to see right through me, but the smile that was spread across his lips gave the solemn face an indomitable air of mischief and fun. I immediately decided I liked him and, from the way he was grinning down at me, I hoped he might feel the same way.

"Nathan, this is Sang," Luke told him, speaking condescendingly, and patronisingly slowly, when neither of us moved for several seconds.

"Shut up, Luke," Nathan snapped back jovially, stepping forward and throwing his arms out as if to hug me to him. As he stepped foot inside my small bubble of personal space, an area that I was quickly starting to think might actually be exactly measureable, I breathed in deeply and waited for the inevitable vision to hit me. I could hear one of the others calling out for him to stop and for him not to touch me, but I was somewhere else entirely.

The air kissing my skin was suddenly cool, but damp and heavy. Giant, leafy trees stretched away from me for miles in all directions and the soft, subtle scent of cypress and pine filled my nose. I sighed in satisfaction at the earthy, comforting feeling that filled my being, scenting just the faintest hint of leather and an iron tang as the vision began to fade.

"You weren't kidding about that," I heard Nathan whisper breathlessly as I became aware of the presence of the others again. My eyelids fluttered open slowly and I blinked a few times as Nathan's chest, now no more than a single step away from my face, swam into view.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I stammered, stepping back to put distance between us again. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine," Nathan started to say, but a female voice cut him off.

"Decorating group, follow me," Diana spoke matter-of-factly, sweeping out of the room without waiting for the boys to follow. She looked at me weirdly as she left, an odd mix of confusion and intrigue poorly masked by her carefully blank expression, but didn't comment on what had just happened. I hesitated, unsure which group I should go with now that Nathan was here, but Celeste decided for me when she shooed Victor, Kota and Gabriel out of the room and then rounded on the rest of us.

"The rest of you will stay here," she snapped, a scowl permanently etched on her flawless face. I wondered if she ever smiled but then decided that I probably didn't want to be around to see it. She was one scary woman. "I want all of the cabinets, skirtings and fixtures stripped out of every room on this corridor before the end of the week. If you ever want free time again, you'd better get on with it."

Yes, ma'am!

An hour later, I was exhausted. A thin sheen of perspiration had built up in places I didn't even know I was able to sweat from and my arms and shoulders shook with every new piece of wood or rubble I lifted. Luke and I had been put to work clearing out the debris as Silas and Nathan wielded huge, deadly-looking lump hammers and saw-toothed chainsaws with clinical precision. We'd seen North and Jade a few times as they had dropped off the tools, while Celeste looked to be asleep in a chair in the corner – a scowl still marring her otherwise blank face – but it had been non-stop work since we'd arrived.

"I need to use the bathroom," I announced to no one in particular. The others looked just as tired as I felt and they continued with their tasks like automatons, not seeming to notice that I had spoken. After a minute of continued silence, Luke looked up at me as if surprised I was still there.

"Down the hall and on the right," he mumbled wearily, waving an arm in the vague direction of the open doorway before hoisting another severed two-by-four onto his shoulder with a grunt. I felt bad for abandoning him when we had so much work left to do – I definitely knew now why they called it hard labour – but I was desperate and couldn't wait any longer.

I hurried out into the hallway, catching sight of Kota as he staggered past at the far end of the corridor, dragging a heavy-looking paint can with two hands. I quickly found the appropriately labelled door and slipped inside, in order to relieve myself as quickly as I could so I could get back to help the others.

A few minutes later I pulled on the metal handle as I went to leave the bathroom, my forearm protesting even as I attempted to just open the door. I was going to be so sore tomorrow, I was certain of that. It would be a miracle if I could manage to get out of bed the next day, let alone complete six more days of this. I would try though, I promised myself, for the guys. I wouldn't let them down when they'd been so good to me. I didn't want to imagine what I would have had to do if I'd been left to do all of this alone!

A flicker of movement caught my eye as I stepped out into the previously deserted corridor and I was surprised to see a glimmer of blonde hair catch in the artificial fluorescent lights, before a figure disappeared into the shadows. Whoever it was, they were heading away from the entrance hall, further down the corridor and deeper into the bowels of the old library.

I should head back to the others, I reasoned with myself, but I already knew it was a lost cause. I was far too curious for my own good!

I let the door swing shut carefully behind me, ensure it made as little noise as possible, before following the figure into the darkness. I couldn't see much in front of me save for a few darker shadows, letting me know where to step around obstacles in my path, but, for once, I didn't trip or stumble. I felt my way along the wall as quickly as I dared until the wall ended and I reached a corner. I peered around it to see the mystery person pass directly in front of a partially boarded up window. The early morning sun, just starting to rise above the horizon, shone in through the gaps, illuminating my quarry just enough that I could see the outline of their face.

It was one of the twins.

I was deep in thought as I tried to figure out which one, and why they might be sneaking around in the darkness, when she turned another corner and disappeared from view. Again, I debated turning back but my curiosity was unequivocally piqued. I waited a few seconds until she would be out of earshot, then followed her down the new hallway.

Three corners later, I was forced to admit defeat. I had completely lost her. I couldn't understand where she could have gone. I had been no more than thirty seconds behind, yet she was nowhere to be seen. As I retraced my steps, I tried the handle of each door I came to. They were all locked tight. There was nowhere she could have gone, but gone she had.

"Sorry I was gone so long," I announced as I stepped back into the work room, noting that Silas, Nathan and Luke were all still hard at work. Intriguingly, Celeste's chair was now empty and she was nowhere to be seen. There was no way that was a coincidence. "Where did she go?"

"Who?" Luke asked, pausing in his latest trip across the room and placing the half of a bookshelf frame he'd been hoisting onto the ground. He grunted as he tried to straighten up again and I moved to help him, but he waved me away. He'd taken off his shirt, I noticed with surprise, exposing enviable abdominal muscles and a faint glistening of sweat to match the one on my forehead.

His muscles were a lot more well-defined than I had first thought, I noted, as I stared. It was really quite impressive just how many individually outlined abdominals he possessed. I'd certainly never seen so many in person before... not that I was an expert or anything.

He chuckled and my eyes snapped up from his chest to his face, heat rising into my cheeks again as I realised I must have been staring for way too long.

"Sorry," I began to say, when a shout from out in the hallway distracted me from whatever I'd been thinking.

"Help!" That was North's voice.

I barely noticed Nathan and Silas toss their tools aside as I raced over to the door and out into the hallway, Luke hot on my heels.

"North?" Luke asked, both of us staring at his brother's stricken, unnaturally pale face as he burst into the corridor from a room across from us, a few doors down.

"I need the Doc!" North hollered, rocking back on his heels once. He looked absolutely terrified, like his worst fears had just come to life in front of him. I started to run to him, but Luke caught my arm and held me back. I understood that he wanted to make sure I was safe, but I needed to make sure North was okay.

"What is it, North?" I asked, my voice shaky and fearful. If North was afraid, it had to be really bad.

"It's Jade," he said simply. His eyes were vacant and lost, the life seeming to drain out of him as I watched. "She's... I..." He swallowed thickly, his usually unwavering voice cracking slightly. "I think I killed her!"


	11. Chapter 11: Resurrection

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d5332d8f920dc80656983838ae507dc1""What do you mean she's dead, North?" Luke was the first to speak, after what felt like the longest minute of my life. North hadn't moved a muscle, as if he were somehow frozen in place, unable to free himself. He was in shock, I realised, recognising the familiar symptoms. I'd seen them in the mirror enough times, after all./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7db4ed1af4926051d2163054f4e4350d""What's wrong?" I tore my eyes from North's face to see Dr Green appear from within a dimly-lit alcove at the far end of the hallway, followed closely by Diana and the others. "Why did you...?" He broke off as he noticed the rest of our group, gathered around the immobile North. "What's wrong with him? North, what's wrong?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="472c091a722d1415a1a081bc8437025b""I don't know," Luke, again, was the only one that seemed to be able to speak. I could feel Silas and Nathan filling the remaining, scant space behind me in the doorway, but they exuded nothing but stunned silence. "He said something about Jade. He..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9e7b6cc9ab8ff076aa5172adaf57001f""I killed her," North spat out harshly, his voice oddly void of emotion. It was chilling to witness. His head snapped up to meet Sean's gaze so fast that it had to have hurt him. "She's fucking dead!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="97130267d457e9037a4054cefb0f6234""Okay." As I watched, Sean's facial expression became almost scarily calm, between one heartbeat and the next. This wasn't the happy-go-lucky, jovial Sean anymore. This was a highly-trained medical professional, doing his job. "Where is she, North?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f27f5a02205743caf0b0971936c1160b"North's aggressive façade crumpled like a house of cards, leaving a broken shell in its wake. I would have reached out for him but Luke's arm was still looped around my waist, firmly holding me in place./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4d84605a9bb81920345caa647f8fd84c""In here." North pointed back into the room he had just burst from with a shaky hand. His voice was steadier now that the doctor was here, but I could still hear the taut, panicked undertones that he didn't make any effort to try to hide. Sean swept down the corridor towards him, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and up to his ear with crisp, unaffected efficiency. He barked out a few undecipherable instructions to someone on the other end, then rounded on the rest of us./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="792fc438a27dcc17ff47606120928455""Victor. Gabriel." The two boys stepped up behind him and stood to attention, like they had been trained for this moment their entire lives. It was quite possible that they had been. "Go and retrieve the emergency med kit from the nearest storage unit, then one of you go and inform Dr Roberts that we have a Code 15 on site." The two of them nodded and were turning to leave, when Diana spoke up quickly./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2512e3aa4ff46444c9ba751ec2293bbe""I will go with them Dr Green," she offered, and Sean nodded sharply in agreement. "Somebody will need to inform the President if we have a potential fatality." She, unlike Victor and Gabriel, didn't need wait for instructions and hurried off towards the exit with two subdued manifests in tow./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b55d561c6c0745658e32cf273a36e765""The rest of you, stay where you are until I can assess the situation. North, with me!" This was a side to Dr Green that I had yet to see and, if I was honest, it scared me a bit. The detached, clinical way with which he approached the unimaginable horror of what had just happened left me in awe of his skill as a healer but, at the same time, made me wonder how two such distinct personalities could exist inside a single person./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8edec625cd761cc627cc1478e6a31a9"The instant that the two of them disappeared through the open doorway, the rest of the boys moved as one to approach the scene, despite the instruction to stay clear. No one actually entered the room, instead choosing to crowd around the entryway, but they all still felt the need to find out what was going on. I didn't blame them./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e72a4250c1d4926b537c2ee7dd8f5f11"I didn't know what the right thing to do was. I felt an overwhelming urge to join them, to peer inside and reassure myself that everything was going to be alright, but what if it wasn't? I didn't know if I would be able to cope with witnessing another person's death, even someone I was emotionally removed from like I was with Jade./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b4a64b4266ef6a822178251121a1170f"Oh God! North! How would I feel if she had been as close to me as she was to North? He would be devastated if she was really gone. What if it was him or one of the others that had been hurt, because of me?!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e18b6b1c9a2ec198795e64096fa67da4"I made my decision in an instant, urging my body forward until I was face-to-face with Silas' towering, shirtless back. I would probably have been embarrassed under normal circumstances, to be so close to a sweaty, shirtless guy, but right then it didn't even occur to me. The only thought in my head was that I needed to be strong. I needed to ignore my own feelings and do what I could to help North; to help all of them. I had to see what was happening!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4b253e7aae0940e2aba99c87c08c0fc4"Silas shifted without a word from either of us, like he knew exactly what I needed from him. I slid through the small gap between him and Nathan, making sure not to accidentally brush up against either of them as I did so. My sleeved were rolled down to cover my gloved wrists but the last thing we needed right now was another outburst, or for me to pass out again. Nathan was still a completely unknown entity, after all, and I didn't want to risk anyone else getting hurt for a better view./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e2caafe373cae532c01fa0aab2e9746b"I slipped into a small empty space beside Kota, right in the centre beneath the doorframe. Immediately, I caught sight of North, his back pressed firmly against the back wall, staring blankly over at Dr Green, who was huddled over.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0fd7542013b50918d88db70f1b758066"I gasped as my mind struggled to process what I was seeing. Dr Green was knelt on the dusty, wooden floor, next to what looked to be a low, raised platform or stage area. His back was to us and his body was curled in on itself, blocking most of the figure on the ground beside him, but I could see enough to know that it was far too late./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cfd1f30a621cc431bccb27516a45e41c"She almost looked peaceful. Her silky black hair arced around her head like an inky halo, her eyes were closed and her features slack. I could see one of her arms too, from this angle, stretched out towards North as if reaching for him, even in death. Only, her shoulder was twisted in an angle that would never be achieved naturally and her body was bent in a way that that made it abundantly clear that her neck was broken./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="70e494814a8f4ac19d0b37829608b12c""I need you, Nathan," Dr Green said after a few seconds of silence, during which he passed his outstretched palms over her prone form. He didn't try to move her or examine her further but, remembering what he'd said about his abilities, I figured he probably didn't need to. He would know what was wrong without needing to touch her./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="42649b44cea2d0a34268497548a532aa""What can I do, doc?" Nathan asked cautiously, as Kota and I shifted aside to let him through. As if the doctor's word contained some sort of hidden permission, Kota didn't return to his position beside me but, instead, shuffled into the room. At his movement, I felt myself being shepherded inside by Silas, until all of us stood six paces closer to North./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ed6c19f9d202315f2d7f663aad772b77""I need you to be ready to deliver a static charge for me, on my mark." Sean didn't look up from his patient until he sensed that Nathan was right beside him. They locked eyes and Sean pierced him with an intense gaze. "Can you do that?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="872c2badb0d1b90184e72034580f543e""I don't know!" Nathan's voice was hesitant and uneasy and he glanced quickly from Dr Green to Jade, then over at us, before continuing. "You know I can't always control it. I could fry the whole room if I get it wrong."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c7445561a36830af4bca56b6965edd9a""I trust you to make the right call, brother," Sean told him, his tone understanding and completely devoid of judgement, before twisting around to look back at North. "Now, North. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c1b5721713992a241058e2b1609f9f6""It all happened so fast," North said slowly, his eyes fixed on Jade's face. Above her, Nathan was clenching and unclenching his fists as he wrestled with whatever decision he needed to make, while Sean was busying himself by examining Jade further. I wondered why he was being so thorough, when it was clear to everyone present she was no longer with us./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="68a2a2f3641ad1942a58e8d87daf2dee""We were shifting step ladders around in the storage cage under the stage," North explained. As he spoke, his whole body seemed to shake. I thought I noticed a tiny wisp of smoke escape the collar of his jacket, spiralling leisurely up towards the broken smoke detector affixed to the ceiling, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything and it was gone when I looked closer. I didn't want to interrupt North, not for something that I may or may not have seen, but I watched carefully in case it happened again./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b1a3e3bbc593c77595e9232db96695c3""She was coming on strong, like she usually does, but today it was different. She was being really pushy, trying to get me to..." He broke off, shaking his head in obvious discomfort, and I glanced up at Kota beside me. He frowned down at me, seeming to ask me a silent question that I wasn't able to interpret. I wondered how long it would take before I'd be able to do that, to actually understand with just a look./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6e2ffee3b2a3d6669810dcdbc3ddeacc""I thought they were together," I whispered, lifting myself up onto my tiptoes to get as close to his ear as possible. I thought I was quiet but I should have known it wouldn't be enough. North's gaze flicked to mine and he stared at me like I was a life raft that was just a bit too far away and, if he didn't reach me, he would drown./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6789c68d52add99af39b6f15ed87ff3f""No, Sang baby!" he said flatly. "I would never..." He glanced back over at her and let out a long, harsh sigh. "She knows that I will never be interested in her. Not when I'm interested in... Never mind! She came after me when I was about to climb down from there." He pointed over at the ledge, just above the place where Sean was still hunched over the girl. "I told her to stop but she just kept pushing herself at me. I didn't see how close we were to the edge and she just fell!" His voice rose to a panicky roar as he finished his story./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="afeb5a8578a0a9f099e5830b0d52a888""She's going to be okay though, right Doc?" he asked quickly, pleading with Sean to say that everything would be fine. "It's not even a big drop. She's an Amazon, for fuck's sake. She's going to be okay!" He seemed to visibly relax as he spoke the words, swinging his arms back and forth like a pendulum keeping time./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8c301871a7b7ed33c912db8e17190a9a"He didn't know! The realisation hit me like a bullet to the chest and I sagged in defeat. I finally understood why Sean was still examining Jade but, immediately, I wished I didn't. He was trying to spare North the pain of knowing that, intentionally or otherwise, she was really dead. For all the training in the world, North's fear was warping his perception of reality in the worst way./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="eedace51ba33629b8840d0221cf331df"Glancing up at the grim looks on the faces of the other three boys around me, I knew I wasn't the only one who had put the pieces together. I didn't know who would have to tell North the truth, but I prayed that it wouldn't have to be me. I didn't think I could survive the pain I knew would crush him at the revelation./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1d038bfff51929b7c70939b82080297e""Tell me she's going to be okay!" North roared, when nobody said anything. "Doc, tell me!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c88ccd8c0369f636c62f5ca1d86eafb8""I'll do everything I can," the older man said calmly, turning to look him in the eye. "You have my word. Nathan?" It was a question, but Sean didn't look too surprised when Nathan shook his head apologetically./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a044aba8a0a8cb9276e221257fe64e51""You'll have to do it, Kota," he muttered. Kota stepped up to Nathan's side without a word, slapping him on the back in a gesture that looked to be reassuring. Then Nathan stepped aside and Kota knelt beside Sean, concealing the rest of Jades's upper body from view. I looked back to North./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="eb6697d11dacfd185e3c6faec1dfcfbd""Silas." I nudged the bare arm to my left and Silas bent over to make sure he could hear me. I pointed over toward North and muttered under my breath, not wanting to upset him any further. "Is that normal?" Several slim, snaking wisps of smoke were rising from North now. His shoulders were high and tense and the skin on the back of his neck was starting to stand on end. His whole body was vibrating, shaking so violently that I thought he might pull a muscle or two./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9cb722121247440df76bc4bd8101ba6c""Not good," Silas said quickly, snaking a hand around behind me to punch Luke hard in the arm. He grunted in pain before realising what Silas was trying to attract his attention to, then the two of them were moving across the room towards North faster than I could have though possible./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2897475ef365e3cc717a944667bc999c""North!" Luke exclaimed, pressing both palms flat against his brother's chest and pushing hard. North didn't react or look away from the crowd gathering across the room, even when Luke began to forcibly heave him back towards the wall he had stepped away from./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e0c8665b009973a38e25170362f3627d""Brother?" Silas tried to divert his attention, but North was either unable or unwilling to cooperate. Silas spoke again, waving a hand in front of North's eyes. "Talk to me, man." No response./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0aceb11f6d1d5c4b2e11820131cdee4a""Are you ready, Kota?" Dr Green asked abruptly, distracting me from the dangerous stalemate occurring against the opposite wall. Neither he nor Kota seemed aware of what was happening, but Nathan seemed to be torn between staying with them and rushing in to help with North./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a438fe8e5f1f35b3d5aece14c2ecc7e3""Ready," Kota agreed. He raised his hands out in front of him, palms facing each other. I watched as the air between his hands began to spark and shimmer, then felt the soft brush of power as it radiated outward from him. In seconds, Kota had a tangible, crackling ball of electrical charge suspended between his fingers. In spite of the situation, I couldn't help but be impressed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bcbd913496836b1812a89cc09a86c935""On my mark, then," Sean confirmed, shifting up onto his knees and spreading his arms over the body. He glanced over at the struggle happening at the back of the room for a moment, smiling sadly when he noticed North's eyes were fixed on him, then drew in a deep breath./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a761dd39e5221dbec2243e9576a3c8f3"The breath was ripped from my lungs as the most powerful ripple I'd felt yet tore through me and thundered towards the doctor. My eyes widened as I realised just how much power this kind, gentle man was capable of wielding and watched in stunned silence as his body began to shake – not unlike North. He pressed one hand firmly down on Jade's chest, just below the collarbone, and the other on her exposed abdomen. I didn't know what he was doing, but I did know that he was prepared to give every ounce of strength for his brother. He knew, just like I did, that this girl was gone, but he would do anything to save North from the pain that her death would bring, if only for a few moments longer./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ccc1860fc2708cdbc1b80c01f524ff84""She can't die!" I jumped as North's voice broke the silence like a whip crack./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bc98093ed60663871e4e4e44c9ad125b""She tried to rape you last year," Luke said matter-of-factly. I flinched at the coldness of the words, remembering to late the warning Karen had given me about a Jade, but North shook his head vehemently and struggled against the arms of both his brothers. "Don't you remember?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f4e95eee52f817c2fcd68b7b8d4e3762""I don't care," North insisted, his voice cracking as he strained to break free. His right hand, which was spread wide towards me, started to glow red, sparks flying from the open palm./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c7db5c487b98daa8eb35fdc41cae0a30""Watch out," I called to Luke, who glanced down just in time to move out of the way before North's entire right arm became engulfed in flame./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7fa476e45e101ae3660d9c97b8d6ab5f""Holy shit balls!" Luke yelped, grabbing hold of North's waist and holding on with all his might as North sought to capitalise on the gap that the white-hot flames had left in his humanoid restraints./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0906d2969e63d3d393ec9357003e6151""Why do you care so much about her?" Nathan shot at North, as he finally made his decision and joined Silas and Luke's efforts./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6823eb3a8e43e4399214ced9d49fc1b7""I don't!" North screamed. He sounded like he was in pain now. I hesitated, wondering if there was anything I could do to help. I had been able to stop him last time but who was to say it would work the same way this time. I could make things worse, but I had to do something. I couldn't stand to see him like this!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="94f1e26fd30a8820354e0f34dfdf6579""Then why?" Luke roared back, matching North's volume and pushing harder at his abdomen. I could see that Luke's fingers were starting to slip against the material of North's shirt and knew that it was only a matter of time before things went badly wrong./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f4782fbc2276de7379ca9dd7433b3999""Because I don't want to be cursed!" North bit out. "If she dies, I fail. If I can't protect her, how can I ever hope to protect anyone? How can I protect Sang?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5170a31c1d9f4f26cea3d6fe512058af"I gasped as his words registered in my distracted mind. He was doing this for me! More importantly, though, he was doing this for himself and I desperately wanted to help him. To save him from himself. He needed this, needed to feel like he was in control of his powers – his curse, as he saw it. Jade's death would destroy his faith in himself and there was nothing any of us could do about it./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9a14fbbcbaa344c6a982dc1c52887883""I see it!" Sean exclaimed. He was still in the same position, Kota knelt beside him waiting to assist him, but the back of his shirt was drenched in sweat and his head hung low. "Her aura is so faint, but I can still see it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b0ffa0617d6a3bc8a61c470e07e44266""Can you bring it back?" North pleaded, the flames licking at his arm and shoulder dying down a bit as he seized any scrap of hope./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6e892e07196eddd74d41784658c271a4""I can't reach..." Sean broke off whatever he'd been trying to say and doubled over, breathing heavily. He slumped sideways without warning and Kota dived to the side to catch him as he fell. The ball of electricity was flung at the nearest wall, charring a deep groove into an empty bookshelf and blackening the wall behind it, but Kota managed to stop Sean from slipping enough that his hands stayed on Jade's body./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0686fb0caed90c89e7bbadd3870fe579""Use my strength," Kota grunted, heaving the doctor back upright. He hooked a hand around Sean's wrist, then tensed like he was being electrocuted as the other man seemed to rally before my eyes. "Take whatever you need," he grunted through gritted teeth. Sean didn't waste energy responding, but renewed his efforts as another, almighty gust of power threatened to knock me off balance./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c967dcc3a1870252790a7ee093a7e549"Then the world seemed to stand still, waiting for whatever would happen next. The flames that had been forcing Luke back died away to nothing as North watched, unable to look away from the girl so close to being lost. I wanted to scream, to stamp my foot like a child and yell at the sky. I was completely helpless. I hated the fact that I was just a bystander, so weak and useless. I could do nothing to stop what was about to happen./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="716fc1f4eb2336bbd9670767173e5e69""I can't do it," Sean said finally, lifting one hand off Jade's stomach and wiping the thick sheen of sweat off his brow. "I'm sorry, North. There's nothing else I can do."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d526cb40d4553f18b39eb44cc186f988""No!" The broken sound was so utterly heart breaking as I felt the mood in the room hit rock bottom. I also felt, at the same time that everyone else did, the subtle ripple of power that started to ebb into the space between us, up through the floorboards. It was tiny to start with, barely noticeable, but within seconds the ground beneath us started to shake violently./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="df01050da102e51e21da597f987162aa""Please, not now?!" Silas spoke the words like a prayer, raising his face to the ceiling as if someone was going to swoop down and save us all. That didn't happen, but I hadn't expected it to. The gods were right here in this room, after all, and one of them was about to explode. "North, snap out of it!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1887f5116116c302609e2945f53b2725""Do something," Nathan called out, releasing his grip on his brother and stepping back to catch his balance, as the wooden board beneath his feet pitched and cracked under the movement of the earth. I staggered sideways as the patch of floor beneath my feet shifted sickeningly, then I staggered towards the small group centred on the distraught god currently summoning an earthquake. I could no longer stay out of it. I didn't know what I could do, but I had to try./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6ddbc6359485f0da1d996e6bf7cf6300""Stay back." Luke flung his arm out to me as he noticed me trying furiously to reach them. "Silas!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c0983f90fdc9b446f798bf0c4021d897"Silas seemed to know exactly what was required because in seconds the two of them were forcing North back towards the doorway and out of the room./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d389f4f0f1d81b0093a6a79ddece2558""Where are you taking him?" I asked, not understanding why they needed to take the clearly upset North away from me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="63bceca094cdaca1b4bbd72bc4be3550""We need to get him out of the most populated areas, before it's too late," Luke told me, forcing North back another step. I heard Nathan yelp behind me as I traced their movement, then I felt the ground quake violently again./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="99c159b029ea82d483661acb65070b7e""It's already too late," Silas shouted. The sounds of creaking wood and metal, combined with North's bellowing howls of pain and frustration, were making it difficult to hear them. "We need to get him as far away as possible."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4b384a0da75aa3034994b1e0ddda685e"It couldn't end this way, I thought, as I watched them drive him across the threshold. He was still fighting them at every turn but they were making easier progress now, like he was slowly giving up. Like he was giving in to his curse!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08fa752b732ed0b2a1dfb04ffb865728""Help me!" I didn't know where the words came from as they burst forth from my mouth, tumbling out into the air with a power of their own which shocked me. I felt a new rush of strength flood out into me from somewhere deep within, then I heard a new voice speak to me. The noise surrounding me was deafening, ensuring I had no chance of hearing anything from the others in the room, but this voice was a gentle whisper. I could hear it perfectly./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8a2126132af828302aff45e64088abe"I've been waiting for you to ask./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8bb233a1b4bf2dc5265c343797c95556""Stop!" I could hear myself speak the command, but I was no longer in control of my actions. I was an observer, inside my own head, but I knew that this was how it needed to be. I could see now, watching from the distance, exactly what I needed to do to save him. To save everyone./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6a8124be0c617bf72e1dac41f7d1c463""Sang?" Luke's voice was hesitant as he turned to look at me, then his grip on North slipped as his jaw dropped in shock. "God, Sang, your eyes!" I didn't know what he saw when he looked at me, but I knew that I finally had his attention. I needed to stop them from taking North. I needed him!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0c6a67ae8d123ab8283684c320c2f1cc""Release him." My voice echoed effortlessly through the deafening cacophony of the ongoing earthquake. Something unseen was filling my words with power, forcing me to be heard. "North, I need you to listen to me." The ground beneath me wasn't shaking anymore, I thought absently. Or maybe it was, but I couldn't feel it. I couldn't really feel anything outside of myself anymore./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="45667f7b40c384af77a80e9c051966f4""I can't." That was North. I couldn't see him, because my body had turned to face Jade and the two men still slumped over her lifeless body. The path before me was so clear now. I didn't know how I could have missed it before./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce2be77c1c77446f7c3b1de089cb79a0""Yes, you can. I need you, North," my words repeated. I wanted to call out, to tell North what I needed him to do, to get him to do it faster, but I wasn't in control. All I had now was patience. "Now!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cc1f89b1ea377c0a4e8ecb9eac60112d"The force of my words was so potent that I felt all four of the boys behind me step toward me involuntarily. I was so proud of them all, so happy to have finally found my family that I smiled. I felt my lips form the familiar shape as my body and my consciousness were in sync for a fraction of a second, then the other force took back control./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="53f901c4e876da37a515c1ede024e7d3"North stepped to my side and my head twisted to look at him. There was a tiny flicker of shock in his eyes as he saw my face – and whatever it was that had so shocked Luke – but it wasn't important right now. The only important thing right now was saving my North./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="217fa1a22dfb000e41498dc3b15cd07d""Take my hand," I told him, pulling off my glove and lifting my palm up, presenting it to him. He stared at my face once more, then down at my hand./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0c6ce18b6728a0c5af8d461e29e13d49""I'll hurt you," he breathed. His body shook violently as he spoke, but there was no escalation to the quaking around us. I couldn't help but think that this was a step in the right direction./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="42483d54c79361089d055eb41ea8a296""We don't have a choice," my voice said honestly. There was no lie in the words. It would cause my physical form significant pain but it was necessary. I wasn't convinced that, in this moment, I would feel it anyway. "It's the only way to save her."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="47e2508ad27971a14ad5651ab5369c05"North froze, his eyes fixed on my face. He seemed to be warring within himself for several long moments, but then his jaw flexed as his teeth clenched and he nodded his agreement. He gripped my hand tightly in his larger one and I waited for the onslaught of pain that would surely follow./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a8dc318d57bfea90a16292dfbd18cc37"There was nothing. I mean, I could vaguely feel my body start to spasm as my pain receptors fired and my muscles tensed in response, but I was cocooned inside my own head. I suspected that it would hurt later but, for now, it wasn't important./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2364255a88c072bed738346d4e591539""Sang, baby!" North tried to pull away from me as he witnessed my pain, but I held tight to him with a strength I hadn't known I possessed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="caf3ae54538edb45ad32b6a67527f071""No!" I felt myself force out the words. "Help me to get to her." North hesitated again but, in the absence of any reasonable way to detach me from him, he clearly decided to do the smart thing and do as I asked. He bent at the waist and hooked his free arm around my waist, taking the majority of my weight against him. He nearly fell when the floor shook with the biggest quake yet, but managed to stumble forward just in time to avoid wiping out./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c840d2526c1138b6f5bbcbd1a49eec5f""Help me save her," I whispered, releasing my grip on his hand and lifting my arm up to press my palm gently against his face. "We can save her."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="255c690686dcef80efd8cce14a55a28e"Without another word, North started to make his way across the room to where Sean and Kota appeared to be relatively unscathed. I didn't know whether it was a conscious decision on North's part or not, but the patch of floor boards surrounding Jade's body was almost completely untouched. The ends of her long hair had started to slip through the gaps between a couple of dislodged boards but, otherwise, she looked like she could be sleeping. If one could sleep with a broken neck./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4bb9d373bb242ddb9ba21678b7ac3756""Put me down, North," I told him firmly, once we reached Sean's side. My voice was harsher than it would have been, had I been in control, but I liked the authority behind the proclamation none the less. It made me wish that I had the strength, the inner confidence to conduct myself like that, but it wasn't something I thought I'd ever achieve. I just wasn't strong enough./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ba085bf0ff622daa429e2b7e22ac6996"North's fingers clenched against the exposed skin of my thighs, sending tiny stabs of pain that I could almost feel from inside my cocoon. I thought for a second that he wasn't going to let me go, but then he sighed and lowered me carefully until my feet met wood. I almost collapsed, my body weaker than I had expected, but he caught me and held on until I was mostly upright./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d3ddb2d01e1db12dae954fddf3d6f90e""Are you sure about this, baby?" he mumbled into my ear. I wanted to reassure him that this was the only way and that I would be fine, but my body simply reached out and took his hand again, gripping it tight so he couldn't pull free. I needed him to channel everything he was giving to the earthquake into me. I needed him to stay awake long enough to help me save her. To save him, my North./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2c8fefce5535e9e1e21e409b75eb7132"I turned, interrupting my view of the fear and doubt etched across North's face, and addressed Kota next./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2050017ade2fbc12ef171e3ea0c1952b""Move aside!" I commanded him. I wanted to tell myself off; I couldn't talk to him like that, but I was still just a bystander, watching from the wings. I watched as Kota's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he did as I asked. 'I'm sorry', I wanted to say, but I deduced that, based on the curious, calculating expression on his face as he backed up, he might not be far away from figuring out the truth. This wasn't like me at all. This was the me that I could only be once I forgot how to be myself./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab034f14e452781cf5cc3c000d28f381""Are you ready?" I asked Sean. He looked up at me, a strange understanding in his eyes as he locked his gaze with mine./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="90bddfcd29fa4deb3b6db467efe5af85""On your mark." He positioned his hands back over the body, awaiting my instructions. I didn't know how, but he knew exactly what was happening. I would be sure to ask about that later, if I made it through this. My body took a deep, calming breath and I took one mentally too, for good measure. It seemed like the right thing to do./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="49f7912030102f5ab969a088fd5bab44""Now!" I watched in rapt attention as I gripped North's hand tightly to my side and reached out to grip the base of Sean's neck with my thumb and forefinger – hard! It had to hurt and I could see blood where my nails dug in, but he didn't flinch. He just pressed down with his hands and allowed my power to wash through him in a torrent. I drew from North too, like I'd known I'd have to, but not too much. He was just there to ground me – the pain from his touch keeping me conscious – but it was enough to bring the raging earthquake to an abrupt end./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cd92a526f2b411421e56e576ea558076""Bring her back," I whispered to Sean, my face just inches from his ear as North struggled to keep me standing. I was fading fast, I could feel it, but it would be enough. It had to be enough! I could do nothing now except wait, watching from a distance through my own eyes as Sean searched the deepest recesses of her body for Jade's life force – her aura. Her soul./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="672de2bd16c3276a1f9148803d8bed82""Got her!" Sean shouted, just as I felt my consciousness fading. I couldn't hold on much longer. I yanked at North's hand, feeling him stagger as I pulled from him both physically and metaphysically. I just needed to hang on for a few more seconds./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="641375a334ca625af4116b6b31aee559"My power snapped back into me with an audible crack, at least inside my head, and I released Sean, stumbling back into North's chest. I hadn't noticed while I'd been occupied with Jade but the others must have surrounded us because, as I started to collapse, I felt someone strong and warm catch me by the shoulders. My hand was wrenched from North's just in time as my body and my consciousness snapped back together and I groaned in agony. The pain I had been detached from for so long hit me all at once and threatened to take me under, but for once my eyes remained open./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2332632babc729d0a06f699526064da4""What the hell is going on?" An exhausted laugh escaped my lungs as I heard the most beautiful sound in the world, the dulcet, nasal strains of Jade's voice echoing through the room. She sounded beyond annoyed and, for some reason, that made me incredibly happy in that moment. If she was talking, she was alive. That was all that mattered. North would be free of the burden of his curse and she would be free to leave him the hell alone!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6b210e647ce6b2231e8cdb7e24d4a58d"My eyes widened at my thoughts and I pressed my lips tightly together to stop me from expressing the sentiment out loud. Where on earth had that thought come from? Wait, what was going on?/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="45f1aa4d2e6e2765f4c4207dd9ef9371""What just happened?" I asked, pushing myself off the person holding me. I turned to see Luke staring at me, abject confusion warring with fear for the dominant expression on his face./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="22c64fba2be6eb4abb2b532ced4bb734""What are you talking about, baby?" North growled, pulling me out of Luke's arms and looking me up and down like he expected me to fall apart before his eyes. "You know what just happened!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="955a8b402233d59b8dfc92dd944124aa""Um, no. Actually, I don't," I told him earnestly. The last thing I remembered was watching North trying to escape from Luke to get to... Wait. Jade!/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a28b1e946c2ee68a676e08fca8ab56ca""Jade. Are you okay? I thought you were..." Mercifully, she cut me off before I could finish my thought. She had been dead, hadn't she? Was I mistaken? I didn't understand what was going on./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c5ca0c6041be6208e2fd9f4ab22f9ec0""I'm fine," she snapped, pushing herself off the ground and elbowing Kota aside so she was standing nose to nose with me. "No thanks to you and your band of freaks." North moved to step forward, presumably to confront her, but I held out an arm to stop him. I noticed that I was no longer wearing my glove on that hand. I didn't remember taking it off./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="497d6f3630884be7f2229c75a8397432""I'm sorry you feel that way, Jade. I didn't mean to upset you." I tried to be diplomatic with her but it was exceedingly hard. I was strangely exhausted all of a sudden and I didn't really fancy dealing with her right now if she was going to pick a fight./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dbb27dfc2d47e29a037cba84ce4a6753""Whatever," she said dismissively. I was surprised that she let it go, but wasn't about to complain. She pushed past me rudely and immediately tripped over a floorboard that had come loose from its housing. Silas moved to steady her but she waved him away with a flick of her fingers. "What the fuck happened in here?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="93d5f17abf985677a26a0b1d389bc3f3"That was a good question. The room looked like it had been attacked with a chainsaw or a tornado, and there was a mark on the wall that looked distinctly like a lightening strike. The floor was completely destroyed and there was no glass left in the windows. Jade paused, then turned back to look at me – and North, who was so close to me that he seemed to be trying to perform some kind of fusion on the molecular level. She narrowed her eyes at us, then flicked her hair over her shoulder./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2893780e0a8bb93919b96000281336c6""Never mind. I don't even care. I'm done with this shit!" With that, she started to scramble over the smaller piles of rubble to reach the exit. It wasn't quite the dramatic exit she'd been hoping for, I'm sure, but we all watched her leave, so I guess it had the desired effect./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="21525a6d64bec1e06198914c80be258b""Can someone tell me what the ever living hell just happened," North said, once she was out of earshot./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="247ae3ed71ab632f79255922322bb3ea""I'd quite like to know that too," I agreed, looking over to Kota and Sean. For whatever reason – perhaps because they had been treating Jade – it seemed like those two might know something about how she had cheated death, but Kota just shrugged. In lieu of responding, Sean pulled out his newly vibrating phone and glanced at the screen./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8714e373b9f8b8b84c162389b9c6e7e""It might just be time for those answers," he said cryptically, before holding out the phone to show me the contact information displayed on screen./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e0bc0ac309762b140f2bb7c134c29c82"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Master Owen Blackbourne./span/p 


	12. Chapter 12: Family Meeting

"Are you going to answer that, Doc?"

All of us jumped at the unexpected noise, echoing across the large, near-empty room behind me. I recognised the voice as Gabriel's but, even then, it took several long moments for me to realise what was happening. He and Victor must be back with the medical kit that Sean had sent them for, I realised, although that felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

"Huh?" he said absently. I tore my gaze from the vibrating phone clutched in his outstretched fingers, still tilted toward me, and focused on Sean's pale face. He looked like he might collapse again at any moment and, unless I was very much mistaken, he'd temporarily forgotten the social etiquette involved in answering a phone call.

"Sean?" I breathed, my tired, aching body unable to raise my voice above a raspy whisper. I felt as tired as the doctor looked, and I didn't want to even imagine how awful I looked right now!

"Oh, right!" Sean blinked in surprise as he finally seemed to register the device in his hands and the fact that it was still ringing out, unanswered. "Sorry." He pulled the phone in towards his chest, cradling his shaking arm with his other elbow, and tapped at the screen once.

"I felt the quake," was all that the deep, smooth voice through the speaker said, but it was enough to have me scrambling backwards as fast as I could force my limbs to move. Before my mind could register that I was in motion, I felt Luke stumble to one side as I crashed into his chest at speed, actually managing to push him back a step as I went. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I instinctively wrapped my shaking arms around my torso, as if to shield myself from the potent threat I could feel crawling up my spine and chilling my exposed flesh.

"What's wrong?" I heard Victor's voice buffeting my mind but, right then, all I could pay attention to was the thundering of my own heart and the small, black rectangle in Sean's hands. I couldn't imagine anything or anyone who could cause such a visceral reaction from me, or such an instinctive feeling of unease, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to resist bolting for the gates if the voice spoke again. "Princess?"

"I don't know!" I stammered, lifting my bare hand to scratch at the prickly skin under my shirt. It felt like a thousand fire ants were trying to burrow their way into my skin and all I could do was brush at them. What was going on? This whole situation was just getting weirder and weirder. As I scratched, and the voice remained blissfully silent, the discomfort eased a bit, but it was hard to shake.

"Doc?" That was Kota. I looked up from the crumpled fabric of my shirt sleeve to see that he was stalking towards me cautiously, holding out the glove that I had lost. I still couldn't remember if I'd taken it off, or why, but right now it was a comfort blanket that I needed more than air. I reached out with my other, gloved hand, plucked it from his grasp, and shoved my all-too-exposed hand inside. I shivered as the thin material provided some psychological barrier between myself and the outside world, but I still felt uncomfortable and edgy.

"Damn it!" Sean muttered, before stabbing another button and pressing his phone up to his ear. "Still there, brother?" He listened for a moment and then glanced over at me hesitantly. He nodded, then shook his head in frustration as he remembered that the person on the other end couldn't see him. I really hoped that that person wasn't their mysterious Master Blackbourne, but my gut told me I might be out of luck there. "Unfortunately."

"What's wrong?" North demanded of the doctor, starting to step towards him, but Sean held out a palm in his direction. North stopped short, seemingly perturbed at the dismissal, but the other man barely noticed.

"Stay here with her," Sean instructed the boys after a moment, then vaulted up onto the low staging area, which was still mostly intact, and hurried into the wings, out of earshot.

"This is bullshit," North grunted, turning to look at us with frustration – and more than a little confusion – in his deep brown eyes. He seemed to silently plead with each of us in turn to explain what was happening, to give him something to cling to, but no one spoke. I had no answer to give and, glancing around at my companions, I didn't think I was the only one.

After nearly five minutes of tense silence, Sean appeared from behind a curtain and made his way back down of the stage. His phone was nowhere to be seen and his expression was guarded.

"Owen and I are in agreement," he announced, as we all fell silent to listen to what he had to say. "I filled him in on what happened with Jade, and with us. There are too many questions right now that need answering, and we can't figure this out unless we're all on a level."

"What do you suggest?" Kota asked, ready to do whatever needed to be done.

"We take Sang to meet him," Dr Green said slowly, like he expected one or more of the boys to protest, but no one did. "You all need to make an appearance in at least one class, especially Sang, so that we don't cross McCoy's radar again, then we can all meet back at the family office and talk it through. We need to get out of here for now and, if anyone asks, this was a natural phenomenon. An earthquake, nothing more! Jade was simply knocked unconscious in the confusion."

Each of the boys nodded their agreement without question so, when Dr Green's gaze fell on me, I did the same. I wasn't about to be the one who implicated them, especially since I apparently had no memory of what had really happened.

"Will Master Blackbourne be able to explain what's going on with me?" I asked finally, just as we started to leave. I desperately needed the answer to be yes, otherwise I thought I would scream in frustration. I needed to know what was going on, with everything!

"I hope so, Miss Sang," Sean said wearily, breathing out a gust of air in a huff. "I hope so."

I stared vacantly at the vast, off-white expanse of board behind Master Morris' balding head. There was a speck of dirt just above his left ear, if my eyes weren't deceiving me. I was usually an attentive student but, as his low, monotone voice continued to expound on the virtues of good agricultural economy, whatever that was, I found my mind wandering...

North had refused to leave my side we'd approached the building, which Kota had insisted would contain my next class. Gabriel, who was also taking the class with me, had rolled his eyes at North's determined, almost petulant glare, but hadn't tried to stop him. I wasn't sure exactly why North had felt the need to follow me to class, but I hadn't been about to complain. I had thought that I would get much less unwanted attention from curious classmates with one giant, skulking manifest perpetually one step behind, but I'd been wrong.

I sighed as I twisted slowly around in my seat, all the while trying to avoid attracting the ire of the teacher, so that I could glance up at North. He hadn't moved from the position he'd taken up at the start of class, leant up against the poster board on the back wall with one foot pressed against the paintwork. He'd stalked through the open door behind us, pointed silently at two seats, side-by-side in the back row, and taken up his vigil.

"What's wrong, Trouble?" Gabriel mouthed at me, when he saw me looking back at his brother. I opened my mouth to try to explain myself, then snapped my jaw shut without a word. I was going to get in too much trouble trying to explain, and the last thing I needed was to get sent to McCoy again or get myself another week of work detail for my troubles. One was enough, and surely the boys wouldn't jump to my rescue a second time!

I looked around myself, at the desk and the floor, searching fruitlessly for some way to communicate to the boy next to me without speaking, then I suddenly had an idea. Paper. I needed paper and a pen. Gabriel had a small, ring-bound notebook on his desk, which he had yet to open, so I pointed at it. I fixed him with what I hoped was a suitably questioning look, in the hopes that he would understand.

He stared at me, confused, for a moment, before glancing down at the notebook. His eyes widened in understanding and he nodded, flashing me a knowing grin. Digging in his pocket for a pen, he handed me the small book and watched my face as I opened it and began to write.

 _How is North able to just stand there? Does Morris not see him?_

I placed the pen down on top of the paper, and pushed the book towards the edge of my desk. Gabriel started to reach for it but, as he spared a glance toward the front of the room, North's large hand swooped down over my shoulder and the notebook disappeared behind me. I squeaked in surprise, indignant at the theft but also keen to get an answer to my question. I turned around in my seat, teacher and ongoing lecture forgotten, to see North holding the book up to his face to read. He took a moment, considering the words I had written, then chuckled low in his throat.

"He doesn't see me, baby," he said loudly, still chuckling about his own private joke at my expense. "None of these idiots can see me. You can, and Gabe can, but everyone else thinks you're staring at a wall right now."

"Oh!" I blurted out loudly, suddenly remembering that North had the ability to shield himself from people at will. I didn't understand exactly how that worked, or what the limitations were, but no one else seemed to have heard him speak just a second ago.

"Miss Sorenson." I jumped and spun back around in my seat to see Master Morris glaring at me from across the room. His textbook, which he had been reading from for the past forty minutes, was dangling, forgotten, from his fingertips, and the attention of the room was now fixed on me. "Do we have a problem?"

"It was my fault, sir," Gabriel cut in, before I had the chance to respond. The focus shifted away from me for a moment, and I breathed out a gusty sigh of relief as Gabriel saved me from prying eyes yet again. "I dropped my pen."

He hopped up from his seat and stepped towards North, who hurriedly placed the pen on the floor, as quietly as he could manage, then pushed it under the nearby shelving unit. Gabriel winked at me, then retrieved his pen and waved it victoriously at the irritated-looking teacher.

"Try not to disrupt my class next time," the man said with a frown, then promptly returned to his lecture as if nothing had happened. I could sense North chuckling to himself behind me, but I didn't engage him again.

Ten minutes later, the class filed slowly out of the room as Gabriel, North and I hung back to wait until the doorway was clearer. We weren't in a hurry to leave, since we had no second class to get to, but the wait gave my stomach the chance to tie itself in knots.

This was it. I was finally going to meet the man behind this all-consuming, powerful family, the one I had been warned about even by his own brothers. I shivered as I remembered my reaction to the mere sound of his voice this morning and couldn't help but feel afraid. This was no game and these people were actually dangerous, even if I tried most of the time to ignore that fact. I had been so swept up in the wake of their powers, in only the short time I'd known them, and now I was about to go deeper down the rabbit hole. I wondered when it might prove to be too late to turn back, before I became lost forever.

"Ready?" North asked me gently, leaning down to place his face directly opposite my own. I blinked as I realised that, while I had been deep in thought, the room had completely cleared. Gabriel was on his feet beside us, bag slung across his shoulders, and it was time to leave. Was I ready to face the family patriarch? Was I really prepared to learn everything about these people, about myself?

"Yes," I lied. "I'm ready."

The building looked almost identical to the other office buildings as we approached it. It was one storey, as with so many of those surrounding it, and the dull, grey-brown brick did nothing to suggest anything particularly special about the structure. In fact, it was only thanks to the boys, and the way that they began to visibly relax as we turned off the main path, that I realised that we had reached our destination.

"Welcome home, Trouble," Gabriel grinned down at me as he punched a enviably long string of numbers into a keypad, mounted on the wall beside the solid-looking metal door, then pushed it open and gestured for me to enter. I hesitated for a moment, wondering just what might be hidden inside, but I needed have worried. The entryway I stepped into was neat and compact, yet tastefully decorated in a neutral beige, with a single, off-white couch set against the wall to the right.

Part of me wanted to pause for a moment, to take in the room – and to delay the inevitable meeting that was about to happen, if I was honest with myself – but the two boys were already leaving the sparse entryway for a corridor to my left. I hurried after them, not wanting to get lost inside this new building.

"... Victor's room," I heard Gabriel saying, when I managed to catch up a few seconds later. I frowned in confusion at his words. They had said that they were taking me to their family office, to meet with Master Blackbourne, so why would Victor have a separate office here too. I had assumed that this building would have been home to the offices of several different groups or people in authority, such as Master Blackbourne, but perhaps I was wrong.

"Do you all have offices in here?" I asked, before Gabriel had the chance to sweep further down the hall and move onto a new bullet point in his office tour.

"Oh!" Gabriel sounded surprised for a second as he turned to face me. Clearly my question had been unexpected, but he didn't hesitate to answer. "I forget sometimes how much we take for granted with you. Of course you wouldn't know." He smiled then, a warm, apologetic grin that lit up his whole face. "This is Victor's bedroom. We all live here." I frowned deeper. Now I was even more confused. Were we not going to an office, then?

"I thought Sean said we were meeting in your family office," I admitted.

"We are," North explained, stepping around me and Gabriel to put himself at the front of our little procession. He seemed to take over the role of tour guide without a word, drawing my attention to him with the ease of someone who has a lot of practise with holding an audience. It surprised me, especially coming from the particularly tight-lipped North, and I wondered how many people they had delivered this tour to. "This whole building has been assigned to us, while our family is in residence at the Academy. The school administration tried to split up us a while back – not a good idea on their part – and, ever since, we've lived here."

"And we do have a family office," Gabriel added. "It's just happens to also double as a games room." I couldn't help but laugh at that, despite the tension in my body at the prospect of the impending meeting, and Gabriel seemed to brighten at the sight of my mirth.

"I won't bore you with the details," North said, as he started to lead us down the hallway again. "He gestured lazily towards a number of closed doors, rattling off each of their names as we passed their respective rooms. Gesturing towards another door, which stood slightly ajar, he rolled his eyes. "You can probably tell whose room _this_ one is..."

"Gabriel's!" I answered his unasked question with certainty, having caught a glimpse of the very edge of a thick, vivid orange carpet. Gabriel didn't feel the need to respond, either to me or to North, and just shrugged. He did, however, pull the door shut as he walked past. Perhaps I was not supposed to see inside any of these rooms, but that wasn't a question I was about to ask of either of them. They could keep the contents of their rooms a secret from me all they liked. I had no right to pry, despite my newly burgeoning curiosity to peer inside and discover more about each of them.

"This is the Doc's office." We finally reached the end of the long, straight hallway and I swallowed nervously as I realised that we had only two doors left undiscussed. North was pointing toward the one to our left, which now left just one. My eyes flicked from his face to the other door, outwardly inconspicuous with an unassuming, beige-tinted wood, and I took a deep breath.

"Which makes this one..." I trailed off, unable to finish my thought.

"It'll be fine," Gabriel reassured me, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently. "Don't worry so much. We'll explain everything, I promise!"

That wasn't so much the issue, I thought wryly, but he didn't need to know that. It would, honestly, be a relief to finally meet the man himself, to get some answers and find out what was going on with me, with them, with everything. The thing that was really bothering me, if I took the time to dig deep inside, was the fact that I didn't want to disappoint him. I was sure that, once I stepped foot inside this room, he would take one look at me and announce that they had all made a terrible mistake. I was, as I had always believed, a nobody. I was nothing even remotely worth paying attention to and, when he explained it to these beautiful, kind-hearted boys, they would have to find some way to let me down easy. They would distance themselves from me once more, realising their mistake, and I would be back to being alone.

"I'm ready," I said, a sad smile curling my lips at the corners as I looked from North to Gabriel and back to North. I won't fight this, I wanted to tell them. I won't make this hard for you. I'll walk away and I won't look back.

I didn't say anything in the end, unable to force the words out, as Gabriel pushed down on the handle and the door swung open. It was dark beyond the doorframe, as the room inside materialised slowly, so I couldn't see much.

There was silence for a long moment as I held my breath, waiting for – I didn't know what, exactly, but something. I stood, frozen, staring at the slowly swinging door, unable to force myself to move a muscle. After a moment, North nudged me with his elbow and chuckled again.

"We won't bite," he joked. His words broke the odd tension that I had built up in my mind and I let out the breath I'd been holding in a huff.

"Sorry," I said quickly, realising that I was being stupid, and hurried forward into the darkness.

"You made it!" I jumped involuntarily as Kota's disembodied voice startled me temporarily, until my eyes adjusted to the dim, low lighting of the room I now stood in. Once my vision cleared, I saw that I was standing in what looked like an ordinary family room, complete with TV and games consoles. There were controllers strewn all across the floor and the wide screen TV complete with static, as if my arrival had just interrupted a game, and then my eyes fell upon a group of young men who watched my reaction with close attention.

"What do you think?" My gaze was torn from Kota's earnest face to Nathan's expectant one as he stepped toward me, gesturing around him. I could see that he was intending to ask my opinion of their family 'office' but, like a well-oiled machine, I saw Silas step up behind his brother and clap a heavy hand on his shoulder in wordless warning.

"Be careful," he muttered, trying to be subtle in his concern, but I didn't miss the gesture for what it was. He had been concerned that Nathan might, like several of the others had done, try to touch me, and had made a move to prevent another incident. It was such a thoughtful gesture that I felt my heart squeeze a little, but I tried to focus on Nathan's question. I didn't want my newest friend to think I was scared of him, or worried he might attack me.

"It's..." I broke off, realising that I had no idea how to answer the vague query. I glanced around at the beige-themed décor, the electronic equipment, and the seven faces that peered at me from various angles around the room. I noted that there were several large armchairs and couches in the room, but that they had been pushed back against the walls to make room for several huge beanbag chairs, which filled the remaining floor space. They looked super comfortable! "It's perfect!" It was the honest truth. I hadn't known what to expect, going in, but the room suited their family dynamic to a tee. It was like I was been given a glimpse behind the curtain and everything was exactly as it should have been.

"It is, now you're here," Luke announced with a cheeky grin. He winked at me and I giggled as Gabriel snorted with laughter at his words.

"I'm glad you missed me so much, brother!" He threw his arms out and ran at Luke without warning, the others laughing when Luke pushed him away playfully. Gabriel puckered his lips and leant in towards Luke, making smacking noises and reaching for him again. "Come on. Give us a kiss!"

"Shut up, dude!" Luke retorted, elbowing him in the side and then wrapping an arm loosely around Gabriel's shoulders. My breath hitched and my face fell as I took in the image of the two of them, showing affection so effortlessly and freely, but I recovered quickly. Glancing with concern at each face in turn, I didn't think that any of them noticed.

I stood back and watched, the impending meeting temporarily forgotten, as they laughed and joked easily with one another. The playful shift in the group dynamic, now that they were out of the public eye, was staggering to witness, and I hoped whole-heartedly that this would not be the last time that I got to see this less serious side to them. It was a whole new aspect to their personalities that I had yet to scratch the surface of, and I was eager to see what I could unearth.

"Oh good. You're all here, finally." The noise in the room dropped from excitable chatter to nothing in a heartbeat as Dr Green's calm, clear baritone cut through the atmosphere like a knife. I peered over Victor's shoulder, in the direction of the noise, to see that he had emerged through yet another, partially concealed wooden door. That must be Master Blackbourne's office, I thought sombrely, since that was the only doorway I'd yet to become acquainted with.

This was it! I had almost forgotten the reason we were here, in just the few minutes since we'd arrived, such was the carefree environment the boys created in their own home, but I needed to focus. This next step in my life was going to be mammoth, one way or another, and this meeting would play a big part in deciding that next step.

"Are you and Master B ready for us?" Kota asked, his serious tone back in residence. Dr Green nodded once and then fixed his eyes on mine.

"That depends on Miss Sang," he said formally, without even a hint of his usual cheerfulness. I just nodded, eager to do anything I could to make this as painless a process as possible for all of us. Dr Green acknowledged my acquiescence with a tight-lipped smile, then continued. "Owen?" Wait! I wasn't ready!

"Come in." A violent tremor rippled up my spine at the voice, the same voice that had caused such a visceral reaction earlier this morning. The temptation to turn tail and flee wasn't so strong this time, despite the fact that this was no longer over the phone, but, with not-insignificant effort, I was able to school my expression into something close to tranquil and force my foot to take the first small step forward.

The first thing I noticed in this new room were the books; row upon row of bookshelves, lining the wall across from the door and extending away to my right far enough that I was unable to see the point at which the shelving ended. A tiny part of me wanted to pick an aisle and start to peruse the titles, to lose myself inside a labyrinth of words and shield myself from the burning questions stored in my soul for just a little while longer, but I forced myself to look away, towards the man seated behind a large desk to my left.

He was impossibly handsome, not that I would have expected any different from the final member of this family of gods, but there was something more to him than I had witnessed until now. He looked to be about Sean's age, more mature and refined than the younger boys, with soft brown hair cut short and pale skin like my own. His face was angular, with almost harsh definition to each line and plane, and his mouth was set in a severe line. He didn't look angry, more pensive than severe, yet his demeanour was cool and detached.

It was his eyes, I realised, as I turned my body to look at him directly. There was something distinctly unnatural about the flat, dull grey irises, as I stared at him and he stared into me. With each of the others, the eyes had acted as a window, allowing me access to their emotions and thoughts. Looking each of them in the eye had been like a glimpse of their very soul yet, with this man, there was nothing.

He sighed sharply, startling me as he broke eye contact and focused his attention on the surface of his desk. I could feel the others start to crowd in around me and stepped closer to the desk, giving them room to move without risking bodily contact, but I couldn't take my eyes off his face.

I tilted my head to the side, as if my mind was subconsciously attempting to get a different angle or viewpoint, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong about this picture. Without eye contact, he looked just like I would have expected this elusive ninth brother to look, so I figured it must be this that was strange about him. I needed to see his eyes again, to try to figure out this puzzle.

"You see right through me, don't you, Miss Sorenson?" His head snapped up and I gasped in surprise as his gaze locked with mine once more. It was like he'd known! The corners of his mouth turned down as he studied me, at the same time as I continued to study him, then he sighed. "I can hide nothing from you."

"I don't understand." I spoke softly but the slight pinching of the skin around his eyes let me know that he had heard me. I realised too, as I spoke, that I had felt no discomfort at his words this time either. I had no idea what that might mean but I was glad of the respite regardless, and I hoped that the weird feelings wouldn't return until I was long gone from here.

"I know you don't," he said sadly. He glanced around at the full room behind me and then, seeming to finally notice that we weren't alone, he continued. "We have a lot to discuss."

"Where should we start?" Sean asked, as Master Blackbourne stood up and rounded the corner of the desk. He was tall, easily as tall as the doctor, and he seemed to unfold from the knees like paper as he stood and rose to his full height. He made sure to stay well clear of me as he vacated the space near his desk, then gestured for me to be seated.

"Are you sure?" I asked, after nobody else moved. The serious expression lifted from his face for a fraction of a second as a tiny, almost imperceptible smile graced his lips, then the mask slammed back down and he nodded curtly. "Okay..."

I moved slowly, still hesitant to enter the man's personal space, but nothing exploded or collapsed as I found myself seated in the recently vacated, high-backed office chair. The brown, upholstered leather was icy cold under my exposed thighs and I wondered how he could bear it, even through the black, perfectly-pressed suit pants he wore, but didn't say anything. It was as if no one had been sat here, despite the fact that he had just vacated the space. Everything about this situation was weird, and I just couldn't figure out why.

"Now then, as for where to start," Master Blackbourne said smoothly, shifting my focus effortlessly from the chair to the subject at hand. I forced myself to relinquish my questions about him for the time being, wanting to focus on what was being said. "There are a few important matters that must be discussed before we begin to speak freely, Miss Sorenson. First and foremost, the small matter of confidentiality."

"Of course," I agreed quickly. I had expected as much, considering the secrecy and confusion that I had witnessed and experienced thus far. This was clearly a man who valued privacy above almost all else, and I was determined that I would not be the one to break this family's trust.

"Good," he continued, "because what we are about to discuss could, if the information were to fall into the wrong hands, lead to immeasurable danger for the entire human race." I swallowed nervously as his words hung in the air between us all, dictating what I knew to be true. I wasn't convinced yet that I was who or what they thought I was, but one thing was for sure. The nine other people in this room easily held the ability to change the balance of power in the entire world forever, should they ever need to. I really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"I sense your doubt, Miss Sorenson, and you could not be more wrong!" My head snapped up as the man addressed my inner turmoil as directly as if I had spoken it aloud.

"How did you...? Can you hear what I'm thinking?" I was instantly horrified, cycling back through all of the thoughts I'd had since I'd entered the office. Had he been able to read my mind out in the family room? What about in the hallway?

"No." I sighed in relief and saw another millimetre smile flit across his face momentarily, as he watched me wrestle with my terse emotions. "I sensed your doubt. Even now, I sense your lack of faith in yourself. In fact, it is precisely this that erases any lingering doubt in my own mind." I frowned up at him in confusion, trying to decipher his meaning, but his flat, cold eyes, once again, gave me nothing to work with. "My very being, such that it is, recognises you as the final missing piece of a cosmic game that has been in play since before any of us was born. Our meeting, right at this very moment, was always meant to be."

"Oh," was all I could think to say. I had to consciously force my mouth to close as I stared around at the others, the décor, anything to avoid making eye contact again. That had been completely unexpected, and I didn't know what to say.

"Okay, now _I'm_ confused," Gabriel interjected after a momentary silence. "Care to share, Master B?"

"In good time," was the response, then we were changing the subject once more. "We need to go about this the right way, so that we get all of our cards on the table."

"What, then?" North asked gruffly, his voice rising slightly in irritation, but a single look from the older man silenced him instantly.

"We start from the beginning," Master Blackbourne explained, turning his attention back to me. "How much do you know about our family?" He was asking me? Oh boy! I hesitated for a second, trying to organise my jumbled thoughts, then took a deep, calming breath.

"I know that you're all manifests, gifted by a particular god or goddess. Also, as far as I know, you have powers given to you from your patron god or goddess. I know some of them already, like Freyja for Gabriel and Loki for Luke, but I don't remember any others." I paused, glancing around at each of the younger boys in turn. "I'm also not sure exactly how all of your powers work."

"Let's start there, then," Sean interjected quickly, as I reached the end of my current knowledge. I realised, as I spoke, that I really didn't know anything at all, and I was grateful that they seemed willing to explain things to me. It had to be such common knowledge for them at this point that I almost didn't want to make them go over it again, but Master Blackbourne had asked me a direct question. "I guess I'll go first. I'm the manifestation of Apollo, the Greco-Roman god of medicine, poetry and the Sun. I am blessed with the gift of healing and I'm an empath. Unfortunately, my generous patron didn't feel obliged to gift me with any of his other abilities," he winked mischievously, "so don't expect me to be writing you decent poetry any time soon."

"Ooh, me next!" Luke exclaimed, as soon as it became clear that Sean had finished talking. I said nothing, allowing myself to simply absorb the onslaught of information. "Loki, the Norse trickster, here. As you know, I create illusions. I'm also really sneaky and quiet if I need to be." It was short, neat and precise. I flashed him a smile in thanks and he beamed back. He was enjoying this sharing circle, at least, even if he was the only one.

"You know my goddess too, Aggele," Silas spoke up. I nodded as I realised he was right, remembering the afternoon we'd spent in the baseball diamond. "Put simply, Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, gifted me with the ability to win. You've seen how it works and why I try not to use it."

"Thank you, Silas," I mumbled, before Gabriel spoke up next.

"Gabriel Joseph Coleman Esquire, at your service, ma'am," he told me with a twinkle in his eye. I stifled a giggle at the comically posh accent he put on as he spoke, but I appreciated his efforts to lighten the heavy mood. "The lady, Freyja, Norse goddess of... well, basically everything, has graciously granted me the gift of being awesome." He paused for dramatic effect, but Master Blackbourne's heavy gaze stopped his joking in its tracks. This was a serious discussion, regardless of whether I was being thoroughly entertained or not. "You know what I can do, pretty much," Gabriel finished quickly, then fell silent.

"Mr Morgan," Master Blackbourne shifted our attention to Victor when no one immediately volunteered to speak next. He didn't look to keen to share for a moment, but then he stood up straighter and fixed his fire eyes on mine.

"I have the patronage of the Hindu goddess, Saraswati, who has granted me her gifts with music, foresight and modern progress. For me, with the current state of the world, progress takes the form of technology. You saw what I did in the dining room, with the cell phones?" It was a rhetorical question, so I said nothing. "I can effectively manipulate electronic devices to do almost anything."

"And it has proved to be extremely useful in the past," Master Blackbourne agreed, before fixing his gaze onto North, who was stood directly to my right. "Mr Taylor."

"Hephaestus," North said abruptly, sticking with the spirit of brevity that he seemed to favour, even behind closed doors. "Greek god of volcanoes and fire." I fought back a smile as he peered down at me solemnly, as if this factoid was going to be news to me. "I can also shield myself and others, but mostly I hurt people."

"I figured as much," I told him truthfully, making sure to look up into his serious, pained eyes. "You didn't choose what you are though."

"No," he conceded with a small shrug. "But it is my responsibility to keep myself under control. I shouldn't have needed for you to have to save me again." I opened my mouth to try to point out that it had been Dr Green who'd saved Jade this morning, but he cut me off before I could choke out a word. "Kota, you're up!"

"Juno and Jupiter chose me together," Kota explained calmly, watching my face intently as he did so. I wondered what kind of reaction he had seen there as each of his brothers had spoken. I felt like, if I was being honest, I was handling it quite well, all things considered. I wondered if it was, perhaps, just that very little surprised me about these guys anymore. "They come as a package deal, or so they say. I got her calming influence and intuition and his leadership and strategy. That's why..."

"Wait," I interrupted, even though I was reticent to stop the free flow of information. I was almost concerned that, if I tried to question him, the newfound openness in the room would dissipate, but I couldn't stop the thought once it had begun. "Did you say that they said that?"

"You are far more perceptive than my brothers gave you credit for, Miss Sorenson," Master Blackbourne murmured, almost too quietly for me to hear. He didn't continue, so I waited for Kota's answer.

"I did. The manifestation is a physical one, for the most part," he explained. "When a deity chooses us, they actually leave their plane of existence and inhabit ours for as long as we are alive. I guess that Jupiter gets bored watching sometimes, because he occasionally chooses to speak into my mind."

"Oh, of course he does," I mumbled, nodding like that was perfectly normal. In fact, Kota's words reminded me of something, hidden deep inside my mind, that sounded vaguely similar but, when I tried to bring it into focus, it was as elusive as smoke. I knew that it was something important, something I should really remember, but it was just out of reach.

"Does that answer your question?" Kota asked hesitantly. I realised that the rest of the room was now silent, waiting for me to say something, and I blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt. Please, carry on with what you were saying." I pressed my index finger against my lips as I sat stiffly behind the desk, feeling the weight of eight pairs of eyes boring into me, until Kota mercifully started to speak again.

"I was just saying that as the manifestation of Jupiter, I lead the security teams at the Academy. Mostly we try to steer clear of positions of authority too much, since we like to keep to ourselves as much as possible, but it's hardwired into my soul to lead. It's my own creative outlet, if you will."

I had severely underestimated Kota, I thought, as I turned my attention to the most unfamiliar member of the family, besides Master Blackbourne. Nathan had been waiting patiently as each of his brothers had had their time to speak, but now, as my gaze fell on his face, his eyes lit up with unmitigated enthusiasm. I was intrigued to see what he had to say, since I had nothing to gauge his powers or patron against yet.

"My name is Nathan Griffin," he began, stone-faced. I sat up straighter in my chair to hear him better, despite the fact the he was the only one speaking. "...and I am an addict." His mask cracked just a little bit as Victor let out a breathy laugh, letting me know that he was just messing with me, but he soldiered on with his joke anyway. "I like to run... really fast." Huh?! I must have looked utterly lost because he grinned at me, taking pity and explaining himself. "I manifest the power of the Norse god Thor. I make lightening and I can run really fast. So far, I haven't found anything useful to do with either of my powers, but that's fine. It's fun!"

"For you!" North huffed, spearing Nathan with a glare at the other boy's gleeful enjoyment of his powers. They seemed to fit the muscular, sporty Nathan well, from what I could tell of his personality so far, but I had to admit that North had a point. It did seem like some of them had abilities that they could use in their everyday lives, whereas some, like North and Silas, seemed only hindered by them.

"How do the gods choose?" I asked. It wasn't a well phrased question but I couldn't think of a better way to try to ask it, without coming straight out and asking why some of them seemed to have been short-changed.

"We honestly don't know," Sean told me, shrugging as he spoke. It wasn't the answer I'd been hoping for but I wasn't surprised. It didn't seem like it would be the first priority for a casual conversation between mortal and deity. "You're an example of that." I was confused for a second until I realised that he wasn't looking at me.

"Indeed, I am," Master Blackbourne agreed.

"How so?" I regretted asking the question almost immediately, when I saw Silas flinch out of the corner of my eye. I chanced a look at him and saw that he was leaning against the closed door now, hunched in on himself. I remembered that he'd had a particularly strong reaction to whatever Master Blackbourne had told them during their last family meeting, one I hadn't been invited to attend, and I wondered if I'd hit a nerve. I couldn't take the words back though, no matter how hard I tried.

"You worry too much, Miss Sorenson." I blanched, remembering that the man could apparently sense my emotions, and mumbled an apology. "It's quite alright. I am much better adjusted to my particular situation than my brothers. You see, when I was seven years old, I became the manifestation of the goddess, Athena."

I nodded, mulling the new information over in my head. I was familiar with that particular goddess, known for her affinity for wisdom and knowledge. That made perfect sense for this man, in fact, given the vast library that spanned much of the length of the long room, but something didn't add up. Why had his family been so hesitant to allow us to meet before now? Why did he seem so adrift, so lost, as he talked about his own patron? There was definitely more to it.

"You're quite right." Again, he agreed with my unspoken thought and I startled, my skin prickling uncomfortably before I managed to school my expression once more. I didn't think I'd ever get used to that! "Athena assisted me in finding each of my brothers and in bringing us together here. She guided me faithfully for nearly ten years." His voice was tense, and so full of sorrow and loss as he spoke that I felt a tear prick the corner of my eye.

"Past tense?" I didn't really need to ask, but I felt the overwhelming urge to let him know that I understood how hard this was for him.

"Yes. Three years ago, Athena left me. In doing so, she left my soul open to external influence, and I became the vessel for something entirely other."

"Something... other?" The wording was weird, but the hushed tone and unwavering sincerity with which he described the experience led me to believe that they were not chosen lightly.

"Yes. When Athena left me, I became home to the primordial being, Chaos. Until yesterday, I had always assumed that she had abandoned me, but now, feeling how Chaos has reacted to you, I think I'm starting to understand."

"You didn't tell me this!" Sean exclaimed suddenly, pushing off from his perch against one of the nearer bookshelves and striding towards his brother. "How could you not tell me?"

"Calm yourself," Master Blackbourne told him flatly. I thought he was doing an admirable job of staying in control, but his right hand was shaking slightly as I stared at it. He wasn't nearly as calm as I had first thought, I realised, which, knowing this group, meant bad news. "I didn't tell you – any of you – because I wasn't sure until she walked in here."

"Still, you must have..." Sean started to speak again, his voice back to a more subdued level.

"I had my suspicions but, as I said, Chaos didn't respond until she walked through the front door of the building."

"Was that why...?" Sean trailed off evasively, glancing around at me and the other boys. He seemed to realise he'd said too much, but Master Blackbourne didn't seem to notice or mind.

"Exactly," he confirmed, then turned his attention back to me. "So you see, Miss Sorenson, I know that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now, because one of the oldest natural forces in the universe showed me that it is so." I opened my mouth to – I didn't know what – to protest maybe, but my excuses died on my tongue.

This man, standing just feet from the desk I sat behind, was the manifestation of the elemental force that had wrought chaos for longer than this planet has orbited the Sun. That would certainly go some way to explaining the reaction I'd had to his voice earlier, and the uneasy feeling I still had creeping up and down my spine, but there was still one thing that didn't make sense to me.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" I asked, spitting out the blunt question before I could convince myself that asking it was a bad idea.

"What about his eyes, Trouble?" Gabriel questioned. He peered up at Master Blackbourne for a few moments, confusion and concentration warring for dominance on his face as he tried to see what I had seen, but, after a long pause, he shook his head in defeat. "I don't see anything."

"Which is yet another reason why I am convinced that I'm correct in my latest theory," Master Blackbourne announced. "I believe that, whilst Miss Sorenson is exceptionally perceptive, she can see past my deception because she and I are cut from the same cloth."

"Do you mean that I have Chaos inside me too?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the truth.

"Impossible," he replied quickly, shaking his head. "Even for a being as ancient and powerful as Chaos, a single vessel must be chosen. Deities are tied to their manifests until _our_ death, so it is not a choice any deity makes lightly. It usually happens only when the balance of power in the earthly plane needs to be reordered or balanced in some way."

"What happened to Athena, then?" I wasn't sure why I asked that question at that exact moment, but it occurred to me that she must have left the man in front of me for a good reason. "Why did she leave you? How did she leave you?"

"I believe the answer to that lies in here," Master Blackbourne said almost triumphantly, slipping a hand into his suit pocket and pulling out a small, ancient-looking book. I wondered for a moment why the answer to this particular question was so important to him, but then I realised that he might finally know why his patron had abandoned him. If he was able now, after three years, to understand what had caused the split, he could maybe find peace with it.

"I had forgotten that this book existed until Dr Green informed me of your arrival," he explained, gesturing towards the man in question using the small, leather-bound tome. "Even then, it took several days to find. It contains the entire recorded history of the phenomenon we know today as Pantheonic Revival, the appearance of up to ten manifests existing on the earthly plane at any one time."

"I think Gabriel mentioned that there haven't been ten of you for hundreds of years, right?" I said quickly, keen to contribute this small nugget of knowledge I had recalled from the recesses of my mind.

"Over five hundred, to be precise," came the answer. "In fact, the last time such an event occurred, the human race was nearly destroyed. This book chronicles every single occurrence of a complete pantheon in recorded history and, in each and every case without fail, its completion has marked the beginning of a period of great turmoil on Earth."

"What does that have to do with Athena?" I asked. I thought I was starting to understand what this man was implying that I was, in relation to their family, but I didn't see how that was possible, if what he said was true. "I mean, we're not in danger of annihilation these days, are we?"

"I'm afraid that I cannot see what may come to pass," he said sadly. "But I am left with no doubt in my mind that you are the tenth. Chaos feels the presence of the old world calling to it, even now, and the writings are explicit. The gods of the old world, those worshipped by the forgotten dynasties of the East, do not return to the mortal plane anymore unless they are answering the call of destiny. You, and I, are living, breathing proof that something has changed. Whatever happened, three years ago, called both your patron and mine to complete the pantheon, and put into motion a chain of events that we cannot yet predict."

"I still don't really understand," I admitted, reaching up a hand to swipe through my hair in frustration. None of this was making sense. If – and it was a huge if – I, somehow, accepted that I was their mythical tenth manifest, how did my mystery patron expect me to save the world? I could barely save myself, and all I had done since I'd met these guys was cause trouble and contribute towards a literal earthquake.

"My guess is that Athena knew that she needed to make room for the primordial powers to manifest themselves in our plane once more. You, Miss Sorenson, became the manifestation from the old world, such as needed to exist to create balance within the pantheon, and there were already nine of us from the new world, so one of us needed to be sacrificed." He paused, his unreadable face scrunching up in pain for a fraction of second, then continued. "I do not know why I was chosen, but what was done cannot be undone. I only pray that, one day soon, I may get to ask her."

"What do you mean, ask her?" I questioned. How could he talk to someone who was gone?

"She cannot return to the upper planes until the event of my death. Although I cannot reach out to her, she is still unequivocally tied to my soul. My guess is that she will have found another human to manifest within, a child or an infant perhaps. Once day, perhaps, she will find me again."

The room fell silent, as we all considered his words carefully. I had so many questions still to ask, with new ones occurring to me with each passing second. I didn't know, however, which to ask first.

"You still haven't explained what's up with your eyes, Master B," Luke interjected then, and I was surprised to be reminded that he was right. Whether through evasion or neglect, we had skipped over that detail. Master Blackbourne frowned, clearly not in a hurry to share this secret with his family, but nodded. Then he surprised me by turning his back to us and hurrying into one of the rows of bookshelves, out of view of everyone.

"What's going on?" I heard Nathan mutter, as he craned his neck to try to see what his brother was doing, but he didn't seem to be having much luck.

"Prepare yourselves, brothers." Master Blackbourne's disembodied voice echoed through the stacks and I raised one eyebrows at his words. What was so bad that he had felt the need to hide himself away from us all? "You have yet to see the most tangible gift that my current patron has bestowed upon me."

I was pushing up out of my seat, to try fruitfully to see around the corner into the gloomy, dimly lit aisle, when the grey-eyed man suddenly came into view once more. I gasped, and smacked my knee into the thick wooden leg of the sturdy piece of furniture as I rushed out from behind the desk. I heard someone – probably North – smash a fist through the plasterboard of the wall, but my gaze was solely on this man before me.

His eyes were no longer grey, no longer flat, cold and lifeless, yet immediately I wished they could go back to that. I would take lifeless every single time over this, this... this void! It was an absence of colour, of light, of anything. The expanse of his eye, pupil and white combined, was now the colour of night – no, that simply wasn't a dark enough shade. They were the blackest, harshest obsidian and, wherever their gaze fell, they seemed to actually leech light and warmth from the room around him.

"What that hell is that?" Luke spoke up, enunciating particularly verbosely the sentiment we had all been thinking. What was it? I tried to look away, to turn back from the all-encompassing emptiness, but I found that it was impossible.

"That, Mr Taylor," Master Blackbourne replied, providing a fleeting respite as he blinked once, and then again. "Is what the presence of a primordial being looks like." He sounded exhausted right then as he stood, resigning himself to the wary, judgemental gazes of his family, but he also seemed relieved, in a way. If, as he said, this had been a secret he had hidden from them for over three years, I could just imagine how it would feel to finally have it out in the open.

"It looks like Sang's eyes, but opposite," North pointed out.

"Like mine?" I started to ask, but Luke quickly agreed with his brother and then several of the others nodded.

"When she brought Jade back!" North elaborated, but I had no idea what he was talking about. I shook my head vehemently in disagreement. Dr Green had saved Jade, hadn't he? I had just – what had I done? I didn't remember. Was it possible that, during the lost part of my memory, I had done something to help save her?

"What did you see?" I asked, finally managing to turn away from Master Blackbourne to look at North. As I turned away, I saw the older man slip back into the shadow of the bookshelves, presumably to hide his eyes again, but I was more focused on what North had to say now.

"Your eyes went white, Sang baby," he told me, his own eyes wide and full of an unanticipated awe as he shared his memories. "They were just like Master B's, only white."

"They were blinding!" Luke added breathlessly.

"Then you made me take your hand. I was hurting you but you wouldn't let me stop. You did something, grabbed hold of the Doc, and then Jade was just awake," North explained. "I don't know what happened. It felt like you were bleeding me dry too. I nearly passed out, but I saw you bring her back from death!"

"I..." I didn't know what to say. "I don't remember. I'm trying, but it's all a blank."

"I don't know about memory loss," Master Blackbourne interjected then, emerging from the stacks once more. This time he had grey, flat eyes again as I turned to look over at him, and I couldn't help but marvel at the impressive contact lenses I knew he must now be wearing. If it wasn't for the slight dullening of the pupil pigmentation, I never would have even noticed. "But the healing sounds like it might go some way to explaining which old world goddess you are manifesting, Miss Sorenson."

"Goddess?" I asked curiously, not missing the way he had obviously decided that my patron was female.

"I believe so, yes," he agreed. "You were able to siphon power from North and channel it into Dr Green, thereby providing him with the energy he needed to save Miss Guerra when she was close to death."

That sounded reasonable to me, but it didn't explain how I had managed to make Luke's illusions real or stop North from destroying a classroom. If I was somehow a conduit for other people's power, and I could transfer power to someone else, wouldn't I have made the fire worse or just made the illusion bigger? Add to that the fact that I had been absolutely convinced that Jade was dead, and something just wasn't adding up right.

I glanced over at North to see that he was frowning at Master Blackbourne too, similarly unconvinced by his reasoning, but, as I looked around at everyone else, they were all nodding in agreement. Maybe North and I were mistaken, but something still felt wrong to me.

"If I am, indeed, correct," Master Blackbourne continued on, with the confident air of someone who knows that they are right. "You are almost certainly the manifestation of the goddess most known for her role as a conduit. A consort, if you will?"

"Are you sure?" North asked, unable to stay silent any longer. "I'm not..."

"I am quite sure, Mr Taylor," Master Blackbourne insisted. "Miss Sorenson's patron will undoubtedly prove to be the Egyptian goddess Nephthys, consort to the god Setesh."

 _I am no consort, I am a Queen._

There was that voice again. Where had I heard it before? Then it was like a distant memory, gone as soon as I realised I had even heard a voice.

What were we talking about again?

"Nephthys," I muttered, ignoring the scowl on North's face this time. "You must be right!"

"Don't you have a book on Nephthys?" Sean asked Master Blackbourne, a grin spreading across his face as he realised that we had finally solved one of the many mysteries that had been piling up since my arrival. It would be good to finally put a name to the strange things that had been happening around and because of me and, if I could understand my patron better, I might be able to learn how to control it.

"I do!" Master Blackbourne pushed his glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose and then disappeared without another word into a new aisle of his library. "It should be right..."

There was loud, high-pitched buzzing sound from the vicinity of the desk I had just vacated. All heads turned to face the new sound and Master Blackbourne re-emerged a second later, book search forgotten, as the alarm started to blare in earnest.

"Victor!" he snapped, all business now. A second later, a large, flat monitor popped out of a hidden panel in the wall and the screen sprang to life. "External camera, now!"

In an instant, the screen went from static to black, before a slightly fuzzy image of the main door to this building flickered into view.

"That's Raven!" Kota gasped, taking in the sight of the young man slumped against the wall beside the keypad, staring straight up at the camera. Kota's gaze flicked to Nathan so quick I almost missed it, then Nathan was gone. He just seemed to blink out of existence before my eyes, then he was suddenly at the newly open door with an extremely bloodied and battered man slumped across his shoulders.

"Raven, report," Kota managed to bark, struggling a little to maintain his composure as he took in every inch of the huge, blue-purple bruise that snaked across the guard's face and neck, disappearing under his black uniform. "What happened? You were on duty at the gate."

"They came out of nowhere!" Raven choked out, barely managing to pry open one eye to look up at his commanding officer. "They were looking for..." His good eye rolled back into its socket as he appeared to pass out standing up, slumping against Nathan. Silas hurried forward to catch him as he started to pull Nathan down with him, but then he seemed to regain consciousness for a moment. "Hide the girl!"


	13. Chapter 13: It's a Trap!

"Raven?" Kota crumpled to his knees as Silas and Nathan lowered the unconscious Russian onto the carpet. He was trying to be delicate about it, given the extent of the man's visible injuries, but he had to be heavy enough to make that a challenge. "Raven!"

The usually placid Kota was shaking from head to toe, wringing his fingers together distractedly as his eyes flitted helplessly across his friend's pale, ashen face. I could barely imagine, having never been responsible for anything or anyone before, what he was going through, but it hurt to see his beautiful face so pained and worried.

"Let me see him," Sean said quickly. Moving forward through the group, he looked composed as he joined his brothers on his knees, but he stole furtive, worried glances at Kota's face when he thought the younger boy wasn't looking. I noticed, because I was doing the same.

In doctor mode for the second time today, Sean slid a steady hand onto Raven's forehead and then hovered the other over his chest. After a moment of tense silence, his free arm began to move as he examined the man using his gift. He was quick, methodical and efficient. Although it felt like half a lifetime before he broke concentration, it couldn't have been more than two or three minutes.

"He's not in any immediate danger." Sean glanced across at Kota once more before he looked up at the rest of us. "He just needs time and a few hours with a healer." He caught my eye and smiled then, and, despite the tension, I found myself smiling back at him. He seemed so certain, so sure that everything would be okay, that I couldn't help but believe him.

"I need to get out there!" Kota seemed to snap out whatever reverie had held him captive, and all of a sudden he was pushing himself up and heading for the door that led out into the family room. "With Raven here, Joel and Darren will be up by the gate alone. They need me!" He was halfway across the room before I think he realised that he had no idea how outnumbered they would be. "Luke. North; I need you!"

"I'm coming too," Sean insisted, wiping a streak of Raven's blood onto the hem of his white, collared shirt and pushing up off the ground with a groan. He staggered slightly as he straightened to his full height and Luke shot out a hand to steady him as he followed North to where Kota was shifting impatiently.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Master Blackbourne asked softly, fixing his brother with a gaze that would have been piercing, had I not known what lay beneath those steely lenses. "You can barely stand."

"I'm the best healer we have," Sean snapped back, seeming to stiffen at his brother's words. He squared his shoulders, shook his head as if that might somehow rid him of his weaknesses, and then turned to look at Kota and the others. "Go and help your men. I'll get my supplies and find the other healers, then I'll follow you when I can."

With a single, perfunctory nod Kota was gone, followed closely by North and Luke. I watched with concern, remembering how unsteady Dr Green had seemed after he'd helped Jade this morning, but he followed them out just a few seconds later. Now only six of us remained, marooned helplessly between the desk and the door, if I didn't count the unconscious man currently bleeding through the plush carpet.

"Mr Griffin." Master Blackbourne spoke after a moment, drawing our attention back to him and away from the empty doorway. "Take Mr Ravenstahl to the infirmary and see if you can help Dr Green in any way. He needs to remain on his feet for the time being, and I would very much prefer it if he stayed that way."

"What about Sang?" Nathan asked, tearing his eyes away from the patriarch to look me up and down. He looked worried and, if I was honest, I was more than a little concerned too. Raven had said that they were after someone – a girl. Was it possible that someone was looking to hurt me? I couldn't fathom how I could be enough of a threat to anyone that they might consider trying to hurt me, but, then again, a lot had happened in the past week. If they were to be believed, everyone in this room was convinced that I was something special, so perhaps someone else did too. What was I going to do? Where could I hide? What would happen if they found me?

"Calm down, Miss Sorenson." The serene, knowing voice pulled me from my thoughts, startling me for a moment until I recalled Master Blackbourne's uncanny propensity for reading my emotions.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Immediately, five pairs of eyes were fixed on my face and I blushed involuntarily. What had I done wrong this time?

"You should never feel like you need to apologise for being afraid," the older man explained. His voice shook a fraction as he spoke, like he was trying hard not to say something else entirely. I didn't think any of the boys noticed the odd inflection, but I frowned as I focused on his flawless, unreadable features. As I stared, the corner of his lips curled up in the barest hint of a smile before it was lost to steel and ice. "Like I said, Miss Sorenson, you are far too perceptive."

"What?" Victor asked, sounding confused, but Master Blackbourne brushed off the inquiry with a flick of his wrist.

"That's not important right now. What is important is getting Mr Ravenstahl to the infirmary as quickly as possible." There was the harsh, clipped tone I had so quickly become accustomed to. The cool detachment, which I suspected was largely defensive in nature, was back in full force, and the millimetre smile was nothing but a fleeting memory. "Now, Mr Griffin!"

Nathan didn't say another word, bending at the waist over Raven. He lifted the large, bruised man into his arms with an effortless strength that, once again, served to remind me how 'other' each of these men was, then he seemed to vanish in a blur. I blinked as I tried to focus on the slight ripple in the air where he and Raven had been, but it was as if they had simply never existed. All that remained, as if to signpost the place where Raven had lain prone, was a rust-red halo sunken into the pale, otherwise pristine carpet.

I was expecting someone to speak as I stared at the ugly stain, waiting for further instructions or another question, but there was only silence. Instead Silas' chest – replete with a faded baseball logo I didn't recognise – swam into my eye line, blocking my view of the blood stain.

"We need to move now, Aggele," he told me gently, holding out a palm towards me. I blinked at him for a moment, struggling to block out the dull, red halo that encircled my vision, before I realised that he wanted me to take his hand.

"Oh, o-okay," I stammered. I glanced down, almost without thinking, to make sure my gloves were in place, before reaching out to allow my hand to be enveloped in his outstretched paw. I took a deep, steadying breath as I felt the warmth and comfort of his touch surge through me, even through the thin layer of fabric, then nodded. The nod was more for my own benefit, my little way of trying to convince myself that I was ready to face whatever was waiting for me outside, but Silas grinned reassuringly down at me.

"You'll be fine."

"Let's go!" Master Blackbourne barked. He strode purposefully towards the door, trailed by Gabriel and Victor. Silas squeezed my hand and then turned to follow, pulling me with him. I let my feet move on their own, feeling my body move autonomously as my mind whirled. What would be waiting for us out there? Would some faceless enemy be hiding just outside, lying in wait to take us by surprise and take me away from my friends? I tried to keep my emotions in check, knowing the man ahead of us could sense my every anxiety, but I couldn't help a few erratic spikes of fear from slipping through the cracks.

Victor went through the main door first, out into the suddenly chilly air of the early evening. I could tell from the way that Silas was shifting his weight from side to side almost impatiently, as he twisted his restless fingers with mine, that he had wanted to go first, but he had stayed with me. I was grateful, and I tried to make sure that he knew it as I tucked myself in closer to his side, waiting for the others to check that the coast was clear.

"Trust me," he told me, glancing down as I tucked my shoulder in under his raised elbow. He seemed surprised by my proximity, and I couldn't really explain why I suddenly felt the need to climb inside of him, but he didn't make any move to step away. Instead, he flushed slightly and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, making sure our fingers stayed firmly entwined above my heart.

I fought back a gasp as I instantly recalled the previous afternoon, with the two of us out on the baseball diamond together. I had so desperately wanted for Silas to wrap his arms around me then, to hug me just like he was doing right now, but I wished that it wasn't under such circumstances. I was sure that he was only doing it now to be nice, to comfort the scared little girl who was in over her head yet again, but it didn't matter. I'd take it, even if it only lasted a minute, a second. I would treasure up this moment for when everything went wrong, when they realised that I wasn't the hero that they needed me to be. I would make the most of this, while I could.

"Clear!" I felt Silas move a fraction of a second before I heard Victor's shout, somehow intuiting without words what his brother was about to say.

"Come on." I felt his arm shift across my shoulders as he moved away from me towards the door and held my breath, waiting for the warmth and strength he'd granted me to dissipate, but he paused before the connection was lost. I fell into step with him a second later, then we were outside and I could see the extent of the danger.

"I don't understand," I murmured, peering around Silas's body to look one way then the other along the path that wound its way through the heart of the campus. There was no threat, no imminent danger; there were, in fact, no people around whatsoever. The path was deserted, save for our small group, and there was certainly nothing that might explain Raven's injuries.

"It would appear that, for now at least, the wards are holding." I turned to look towards Master Blackbourne, ready to ask the obvious question, when I saw that he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were, instead, fixed on the horizon, and a huge pillar of inky blackness that loomed massive over the brow of the hill high above us.

It was huge, a swirling mass of smoke and dust, twisting and arcing hundreds of feet into the air as it appeared to buffet and roil as it grew and spread. The part that faced inward was almost perfectly flat, like it was being held back by some unseen force, and every few seconds a small tendril would break away from the whole and dart towards us, only to be rebuffed.

"What is that?" I gasped, watching in horror as it continued to grow, faster than I could have ever thought possible.

"I have no idea, Miss Sorenson," Master Blackbourne said apologetically, never taking his eyes from the storm that beat against the wards that surrounded us. I didn't know who had placed them there, or how long they would last, but I was grateful for the protection that they provided as we tried to find refuge. "We need to make for the Pantheon. The wards should hold it back for a few hours, but that is incredibly powerful dark energy at work."

"Will the Pantheon be enough to protect her?" Victor asked, glancing down at me for a fraction of a second before returning his gaze to the pillar of blackness that threatened everyone inside the gates. "We don't even know what kind of power we're dealing with."

"The Pantheon wards are not stretched nearly as thin as the one on the perimeter. It will hold for as long as it has to. Now, move!" With that, the five of us started to make our way quickly away from the storm. I wanted to glance back at it, to reassure myself that the invisible walls were still holding, but Silas' arm around my shoulders forced my attention to remain focused on the back of Gabriel's head.

"Will we be safe inside the Pantheon?" I glanced nervously up at Silas, who was graciously keeping pace with me a distance behind the others. I tried to pose the question rationally, since I knew that I trusted these people to take me to safety, but I couldn't help the unbidden air of hysteria that tinged my words.

"I will do everything I can to make sure you're safe, Aggele!" he reassured me once again, then paused thoughtfully before continuing. "I cannot see the future, so I cannot promise anything, but there might be something I can do instead."

I waited for a long moment, continuing to walk silently with his heavy arm slung around my shoulders, until I was convinced he wasn't going to explain. I was just opening my mouth to ask what he meant, when he stopped moving abruptly. His warmth disappeared from my flesh as he turned to face me, pulling both my hands into his grasp firmly. He fixed me with an intense, determined gaze and my words died on my tongue.

"Sang, I wager that you'll get through this safe and unharmed." The words, imbued with a now familiar weight and power, washed over me and my jaw dropped as I realised what he was doing. He was essentially assuring my safety. I still wasn't sure exactly how his ability worked but I was struck by the gravity of the situation all the same. He was willing to use his power to save me.

"I'll gladly take that wager," I accepted, then a new thought struck as the wave of power that bound the contract washed over me. "Wait. I have another wager I want you to make... if you're willing, of course!" I added the rest as an afterthought, realising that it might seem like I was abusing the generosity that had been offered to me, no matter how selfless the request would turn out to be.

"Of course. What is it?" There was not even a hint of hesitation in tone or expression from the giant of a man looming over me, and I felt my heart squeeze as I stared back at him.

"I want you to make sure that the rest of you are all safe!" There couldn't have been less doubt in my mind. If I was to make it through unscathed, then their family would not suffer in my place. Not if I could prevent it.

"Easy enough," he agreed with a confident smile. Clearly this was not the first time he had made such a bet. "I wager that I, and each of my family members, in bond closer than blood, will make it through the present danger safe and unharmed."

"I acc..." The word stuck in my throat, causing me to choke. I pressed my palm to my lips and coughed violently as the bile in my stomach rose up into my throat. "I acc..." I tried again, but I just couldn't force out the word. "What's wrong? Why can't I say it?" My voice was shrill and panicked now, but Silas simply squeezed my fingers gently and held me tight.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"What does that mean?" I cried out.

"I'm sorry, Aggele Mou, but I just don't know."

The air cracked like a whip, the sound seeming so close in my ear that I ducked away instinctively. I staggered back, breaking Silas' grip on me as the world seemed to spin on its axis. A huge fireball ignited the dull blue sky at the very crest of the hill, and then I was airborne. My legs went out from under me and I was suddenly in Silas' arms, flying down the path towards the massive white pillars of the Parthenon that had just loomed up in front of us.

"What just happened?" I tried to twist in his vice-like grip, to lift my head enough to see behind us, but there was nothing but sky and fire and black smoke. "Silas! What happened?"

"I don't know!" he snapped, the muscles in his neck straining as he ran. He wasn't breathing heavily from carrying me but his body was tense and wired, like he was waiting for imminent danger. Were the wards breaking? Were we going to die?

The back of my head smacked into Silas' solid bicep as he skidded to a halt. I bit out a low scream as the vertebrae in my back ricocheted off each other and a lance of pain shot down my spine. I heard someone, possibly Gabriel, bark out a curse from somewhere above me, then silence fell. I could just see the side of Victor's face as he positioned himself protectively in front of me, still held in Silas' arms.

"We're cut off from the Pantheon," Master Blackbourne explained. "We're surrounded." His breathing sounded laboured and strained, but I couldn't see him from where I was positioned. I needed to get a better view of what was going on. If we were going to be attacked, I needed to be able to see my fate. I would do whatever I had to do to help my friends.

"Let me down," I said quietly. The huge fingers against my back flexed and tightened, making me think that Silas wasn't going to grant my request, but then I was being set down gently onto the dirt of the path.

Straightening up, I came face-to-face with a concerned looking Gabriel. His hair was tucked back behind his ears, his eyes were tense and cagey and his expression was bleak.

"Stay behind us, Trouble," he ordered. His tone made it clear that there would be no negotiation on this request, but I was happy to oblige. I wasn't stupid! I knew that my best chance of survival would be sticking with these boys.

Looking around us, I could see that there was nothing familiar about this threat. We were, indeed, surrounded, but not by man or mortal. Instead, perched on every tree branch, fence post, bench and roof top were hundreds of black, beady-eyed ravens. They looked for all the world like ordinary birds, with glossy blue-black plumage and long, razor-sharp beaks, except that they had an unearthly glow to them, a menacing glint in their eye.

"What are they?" I whispered to the group that surrounded me. I wasn't sure why exactly I felt the urge to lower my voice, but I instinctively didn't want these abominations to hear my words. There was just something so evil and unnatural about the creatures that I felt like they might attack at any moment, and I didn't want to spark something I wasn't prepared to defend against.

"Dark energy, no doubt," Master Blackbourne replied in an equally low tone, darting his eyes over to me fleetingly before returning to his defensive position, facing out towards the threat. "Don't make any sudden..."

He didn't get the chance to finish whatever he'd been about to say because, at that moment, the swarm of birds rose as one. Wings rippled and glittered like crystal as they unfurled, but the flight of these unearthly creatures didn't seem to require them. It was as if they were being lifted by some unseen force, suspended like marionettes from the strings of an invisible puppet master.

In seconds, they surrounded us, arcing and curving through the air as the flock carved out a wide halo around us, with me and my friends at its exact centre. They made no move to attack us though, seeming content to circle and corral us so that we were unable to escape or flee.

"Holy fuck, these things are fast!" Gabriel spat out, as he attempted to edge closer to the black, swarming perimeter, only to be dive bombed by a single, screeching bird. He ducked just in time to avoid the thing's needle-like talons, before it soared heavenward and re-joined the horrifying, living prison.

"Any ideas?" That was Victor. He took a tiny step away from us, watching the roiling wall of birds warily, before pulling a slim black sheath from his hip and flicking his arm outward in one smooth motion. There was a barely-audible click, then a gleaming, deadly-looking curved blade unfurled itself from the hilt until he held an almighty, three foot long blade in both hands. His eyes flashed with an angry heat as he planted his feet, hoisted the sword above his shoulder, and faced the birds with renewed determination. "I vote we fight."

"Is that North's scimitar?" I heard Gabriel exclaim, but I couldn't take my eyes off Victor. With the sword in his hands, his whole demeanour had altered in a heartbeat. Gone was the gentle-natured, well-mannered boy I had met. In his place was now a precision machine, a being that I had no doubt would be more than capable of using that blade to defend himself.

"It's mine right now," I heard Victor say. His shoulders lifted as he shrugged slowly. In that moment, I could see the other Victor again, but I was struggling to reconcile the two sides of him that I could see juxtaposed side by side. This would take some getting used to – if we survived this, that was.

"He's going to..." We all ducked again as a single bird chose that moment to come straight at Gabriel's face, wings outstretched and beak open and snapping at the air. "Fuck! He's going to kill you." I heard Master Blackbourne grunt as he reacted a fraction later than the rest of us, just narrowly missing a vicious gash to the face.

"Not a big concern right now, brother," Victor managed to joke, just before another bird broke off from the group and flew at him. He swung the blade cleanly across his body, slicing it in two effortlessly before it could get close, but a third and a fourth bird followed closely behind. The dead bird hit the ground with a gentle thud, then we were under attack. The birds seemed to see the death of their own as a cue to open fire, because within seconds we were overrun.

A few minutes later, Gabriel had pulled a pair of twin short swords from his belt, yet more weapons that I had failed to notice in my time with the boys, and was assisting Victor in despatching birds that came too close for comfort. Master Blackbourne on the other hand, had his own method for dealing with the onslaught of birds. After yanking me out of the path of one that had broken through Gabriel and Victor's defence, he had pulled me down so that I was crouched between his widely-planted feet and was simply stopping the creatures in mid-flight. He would make a tiny, controlled flicking motion with his fingers and the bird in question would simply tumble from the air, neck snapped. I didn't have any idea how he was doing it, but I wasn't complaining.

 _Sang._

My head snapped up as I heard a voice call to me. It was unfamiliar, yet there was something about it that felt oddly familiar. I looked out at the expanse of black, swarming ravens in front of me, but couldn't see anything. Where was the voice coming from?

 _Look at me, Sang._

There was the voice again. I frowned in confusion as I tried to keep an eye out for stray birds that might fly at my eyes at any second, whilst looking around for the source of the disembodied voice. They wanted me to look at them, whoever they were, so they must...

I reluctantly turned my back on the avian assault and twisted my body around to glance in the opposite direction. The birds were swarming in all directions here too, but they only seemed to be attacking on one side. Now I could see why. There were gaps in the mass of black here and there on this side, not big enough for us to make an escape attempt, but sufficient for me to see out into the setting evening sun.

There was somebody out there!

I raised a hand to wave to the figure, opening my mouth to call for help, when they turned their face to me. My hand fell to my side, forgotten. I gasped in horror as I realised that there was no humanity to be found in that face. A mask, white and blank, obscured their features, and a blinding, white cloak covered them from head to toe. My hopes for a rescue sank like a stone as I realised that this had to be the source of the mysterious voice, then it echoed through my head again.

 _We meet at last, Sang._

'Who are you?' I wanted to ask, but I didn't know if I could get the words out. It didn't matter.

 _You can call me Volto. I've been waiting a long time for this moment._

The figure, clothed entirely in white, took a single, heart stopping step towards me. I froze in fear, unable to move as I realised that I was undoubtedly now meeting the mastermind behind this attack. This person, whoever they were, had orchestrated this entire thing for one purpose – to get to me. Now, here they were.

'What do you want?' I tried to project my thought at this 'Volto', since they appeared to be able to hear me that way whether I wanted them to or not.

 _It's not about what I want, my dear. There is a plan in motion that was begun before you were even born, and it is not for you to question your part in it. You need to come with me._

'No!' I thought vehemently into the space between us. A bird momentarily blocked my view of the odd, blank mask that the figure wore, and I tried again to move. They took another step towards me. If only I could reach out, to touch Master Blackbourne's leg to my left or right, he'd know something was wrong. They were all too focused on the birds to see the real danger, stalking like a monochrome panther towards us from behind.

 _You have no choice._

The voice was right. If I couldn't attract the attention of one of my companions before Volto reached me, it might be too late. I didn't know how they would get me out of the wards, or what my friends might do to protect me, but it wouldn't matter. Once I was in their grasp, it might be too late to stop them from taking me.

 _This is your destiny, Sang. There's no point trying to fight it._

They were so close now, only feet from breaching the wall of birds and then they would be mere seconds from snatching up my motionless body and running. Already, the birds had thinned out more from their path, as if anticipating their entrance. This had been their plan all along. They had laid down a trap for us and we'd waltzed right into it.

 _Come with me!_

The figure took another step as the voice battered the inside of my mind, stepping through the barrier and finally coming so close that I could feel their power rippling through the air between us. It felt black and cloying, a weight pressing against my skin and choking up my lungs. I sent up a silent prayer to any gods who might be lurking around right then. Master Blackbourne had to feel the presence of the new aura just feet from his back, didn't he? All he needed to do was turn his head a fraction, to catch a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. Please?!

A splash of blue, bright and unbelievably vivid against the monochrome backdrop, caught my eye. I flicked my gaze in the direction of the motion but didn't see anything until, seconds later, a tiny, azure butterfly came to rest on my bent knee, right in front of my face.

Luke! My breath caught as I fixed my whole attention on the delicate creature, so far removed from the horrible beauty of the black crows that otherwise filled my vision. Was Luke close? Could he somehow save me from this waking nightmare?

The butterfly seemed frozen in time for several moments as I stared at it, then it took off again. I followed its path as it arced through the air and launched itself straight at Volto. Being an illusion, it passed straight through their chest, before sweeping up into the air and back down through them again. The masked figure paused in their march towards me for a few merciful seconds, distracted by the tiny insect darting through their shoulder.

What could Luke be trying to tell me? I wondered, confused by the erratic behaviour of the distinctive little creature. I had no doubt that Luke was nearby, or had somehow sent it, but I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do. I couldn't move. I couldn't cry out!

It was that moment that I spotted something about the butterfly that I hadn't noticed before, a strange sheen to the wings that reminded me of emerald or some other precious stone. It looked so familiar, like I'd seen something just like it on the...

The birds!

"It's an illusion!" I screamed, my voice hoarse and impossibly high as my throat suddenly opened up again and my words began to fly. Despite the lack of visible features, I saw the shock in the body language of the figure in white as they heard the sound issue forth. 'Not expecting that were you, Volto?' I thought at them. "They can't hurt you!" I screamed out again.

 _You're going to regret this._

"Be gone!" I crushed my chest into my knees and slapped my hands over my ears as an almighty battle cry emanated from the man stood protectively over me. I was thrown forward towards the ground as an unfathomable wave of power swept out from him. I was forced to throw my hands out to catch my body before I met the dirt and then, without warning, there was nothing. No sound. No power in the air. Nothing!

"What just happened?" Victor asked a few moments later. I pushed myself up onto my knees and crawled clear of Master Blackbourne before I tried to stand. My limbs were shaking from being held in one position for so long, but I managed to pull myself up to my mediocre full height. The figure in white was nowhere to be seen, and the birds had vanished without a trace.

"There was... It was..." I took a deep breath and tried to explain. "Luke was..."

"Wait, what about Luke?" Gabriel asked quickly, latching onto the only coherent word I had managed to utter.

"He saved me," I breathed, pointing at where his butterfly had last been. The three of them turned to follow my movement, but there was nothing there. "There was someone there. They were wearing a mask. They tried to take me. He sent a butterfly to save me."

"I don't think he can do that, Trouble," Gabriel said slowly. I could tell that he was trying not to hurt my feelings, but his doubt and incredulity was unmistakable. I didn't know what to think. I had been so sure it had been Luke; I had felt it.

"Look," Master Blackbourne spoke up just then, pointing at a spot just above my head. My head snapped up just in time to see a welcome glint of a blue wing reflecting the dying sun, as a tiny body soared past my right ear.

"I told you!" I made eye contact with Gabriel, who frowned.

"I didn't know he could do that..."

Boom!

Another explosion punched a hole through my ear drums, shaking the whole world around me. A column of flame ripped through the sky at the near edge of the campus, enveloping the base of the strange black smoke and eating into it with the ferocity of a ravenous, feral dog. The base of the storm faltered for a second and I watched transfixed, hoping that it might somehow be disrupted in its assault on the wards, but then the flames were gone and the black smoke coalesced again, as dense as before.

"Woah!" I was distracted from the threat of the oncoming storm by Victor's alarmed shout. Without warning, the butterfly, which had been lazily circling my head, crumpled and fell out of the air. It started to plummet towards the ground, spiralling limply in the light air currents, before blinking out of existence a second before it hit the ground.

"Luke!" Gabriel roared, already running for higher ground before I could even register what had just happened.

"What's wrong?" I asked, casting my gaze frantically between Silas, Victor and Master Blackbourne. None of them moved or made an attempt to answer my question, but the blood was draining from their faces as I watched. Something was wrong. Luke had to have been the one to send the butterfly to save me. No one else could manage such a feat, so why had the butterfly suddenly vanished? If, for whatever reason, Luke had been distracted from his casting, then the illusion would be disrupted. So what could cause...?

"Oh God!" The explosion!

There was no word spoken between us, no agreement or discussion. It was, for the first time, like the four of us were completely in sync with one another. We simply started to run. I didn't know where I was running to, or how my limbs had the strength to keep up with the three taller, stronger men, but it didn't matter. I didn't need to know where to go to allow myself to be drawn there. All I knew was that I needed to move, and fast.

Nathan and Gabriel came into view over the crest of a particularly steep hill as we slowed to a jog, as if one of us had instructed the others to stop without a word. Gabriel was shaking, hunched over his knees and heaving in breath after breath as Nathan tried to help him to stand. I had no idea how fast Gabriel must have run to get up there so fast, since they were still a few minutes climb away from us, but he had obviously felt that he had no other choice.

"What is this place?" Silas asked cautiously, as we crowned the hill and found ourselves in the shadow of an enormous, sprawling tree. The trunk was so wide at the base that it had to have been here for decades and the branches sprawled out in all directions, yet the heart was blackened and cracked in half down almost to the ground. It looked like it had been struck by lightning, a single, focused blast that had rent the vast trunk in two like a blade slicing earthwards.

"No idea," Nathan offered, calling down to us as Silas offered an arm to assist me in climbing the last few feet up to the base of the tree. "I just felt a pull and then I was here. I don't even remember deciding to move." That had to be disconcerting, I thought, as I recalled the unique method of transport that the manifestation of Thor favoured. He could have travelled here in seconds from wherever he'd been, once he'd felt the pull we had.

I'd felt it too, I realised, as I stopped to catch my breath. The boys had all felt what I had. That had to mean something. Maybe, just maybe, they weren't so far off base in their theories about me.

I didn't know what to think about that reality. I needed time to process it, to fold and manipulate it around in my mind until I could reconcile it with my world view, as it stood. It could wait, certainly. For now, there were more important things to consider. Luke, for one!

"Why are we here?" Silas rephrased his question. I glanced over at him and shrugged, a gesture that was shared by most of the brothers present. None of us seemed to know why we had been drawn toward this old, damaged tree of all things, and we were no closer to helping Luke.

"Help!" I jumped at the sound of North's voice, before he appeared from behind the gigantic tree trunk. He was moving slowly, hoisting something across his shoulders. Not something, I corrected myself. Someone!

"Where's the Doc?" North's voice was tense, strained. His legs buckled a little under the weight of his brother, shoving a hand out to grasp at the bark of the tree to keep himself upright. He looked close to collapsing under his own weight, let alone Luke's too. Nathan was there in an instant, arms outstretched to receive Luke from North. They both looked blackened, like they'd walked through a furnace, but Luke had dozens of tiny cuts zigzagging across his face and exposed arms and hands. He looked like a bomb had gone off in his face and he'd been struck by millions of tiny pieces of shrapnel.

"I'm right here." A collective sigh of relief echoed around the group as Dr Green appeared from the direction we had come from, hoisting himself up onto the top of the steep hillside with help from Victor. He made his way across to where Nathan was setting Luke down against the base of the tree, dropping a large medical bag down beside the unconscious boy. "What happened?"

"We tried to attack the cloud outside the gate. The other guards were already dead! I threw a fireball at it, but it just bounced right off." North frowned, pausing to watch the doctor tending to his brother, before continuing. "Nothing worked; there was just no-one corporeal out there to fight. Kota summoned a lightning bolt to attack it from above, but it didn't work. I don't know how, but Luke got in the way."

"It absorbed the bolt." Kota emerged from behind the tree and stepped up beside North, who was shaking his head in confusion. He looked unscathed but there was an oddly detached, blank expression on his face. He looked like he was out for a casual stroll, despite the fact that he'd just lost two of his guards and his brother was currently passed out just feet away. "It used my energy against us and Luke was the closest one when it spat the bolt back out."

I didn't like this Kota. This Kota was cold and disaffected, a far cry from the caring, empathetic boy that had rescued me on my first night here. I glanced over at Silas and Master Blackbourne beside me, unsure of what I should do. Silas wasn't looking my way but I caught the older man's eye. He paused, watching my face for a moment, then nodded once. His message was clear. I needed to follow my instincts.

"Are you okay, Kota?" I asked softly, stepping around Silas and making my way carefully across the steep grassy slope to where Kota stood alone, staring into the distance absently.

"I'm fine," he told me stiffly, not looking down. I hesitated, not sure if I was about to make the wrong move, then drew strength from the nod I'd received from Master Blackbourne. He knew my mind, and he approved. That had to mean I was doing the right thing, didn't it?

"No," I said firmly, moving forward until I was well inside his personal space. He looked down at me then, expression guarded but unable to completely hide the pain in his eyes. "You're not!" I didn't wait any longer, didn't allow myself time to back out. I surged forward, wrapped my arms around his stomach and squeezed tight, tucking my head in against his abdomen.

Kota froze for an agonisingly long moment, long enough that I started to worry that I had done the wrong thing, but then his arms came around my back and he pressed me tightly to him. I felt his rigid frame crumple as he relaxed into the embrace, slowly and then all at once, folding in around me as I held on for all I was worth. One by one the muscles in his lower back started to relax, the tension bleeding from him in shuddering waves.

"It's my fault," he muttered into my ear, low enough for only me to hear. "I should have been there to save them." My breath hitched and I searched for any words that might make this better. I hugged him tighter, hoping that my actions might be enough to convey my support and reassurance where no words would ever be enough.

"There you are," Sean said triumphantly, after a few more seconds of silence. I eased myself out of Kota's arms, pulling his hand into mine so that I didn't have to break contact completely, then turned to see Luke's eyelids fluttering open.

"Here I am," Luke agreed, sounding groggy and disoriented but awake and most definitely alive. Kota squeezed my hand tighter, hanging onto me like a lifeline as we watched his brother start to recover before our eyes, but Luke was looking better by the second. I smiled to myself. He was going to be fine.

"Thank the gods!" Kota spoke up this time. He sounded more like himself, I was relieved to hear. It would be hard for him to deal with the deaths of his guards, I was certain, but we would all be there for him. "Silas is right, by the way. It's no coincidence that we were all drawn here, right at this moment."

"Would you care to explain, Mr Lee?" Master Blackbourne asked, a hint of curiosity lacing his words. His statement was punctuated by a number of grunts of agreement from the boys on either side of him, and I couldn't help but agree with them all. What was so special about this place? We could have found North and Luke up by the gate if it was Luke we had been compelled to reach, but instead we were here. Why?

"You wouldn't remember it, Sang," he said, glancing down at our entwined hands before focusing on my face. Me? "You were asleep at the time, after all, but this is where everything started. This is the exact spot where I knew."

"Knew what?" I asked, although I was fairly sure I already knew the answer.

"Knew that I'd finally found the missing part of my whole."


	14. Chapter 14: The Abyss

"Found the what!?" I squeaked. My voice hitched as I stared at Kota, turning his words over and over in my mind. _Finally found the missing part of his whole._ That didn't make sense. Like a soulmate? Or a soul... sister? I cringed slightly at the idiocy of my thoughts. Such things sounded wholly more fairy-tale than reality, like something the dashing knight said to the damsel-in-distress just before he fought a dragon to win her heart. As much as I wished that life could imitate the stories that I'd loved so much as a child, this just wasn't how my life was meant to turn out. My whole world was spinning wildly out of control, slipping further from my grip with each passing hour, and it was just getting to be too much to wrap my head around.

"The missing part of me," Kota reiterated, as if somehow rephrasing it would help me to understand what was clearly already obvious to the strikingly solemn boy.

"I don't..." I started to say, but, as I glanced around at the other boys, I realised that maybe I did understand. "Is this about what happened with Jade?" They thought I was a conduit for their power, right? The mysterious tenth in their group, whatever that meant in practice. That had to be what he meant. The missing link in their group, their – what was it called again? – Pantheonic Revival.

"Yes." Kota nodded, his eyes fixed on my face as I turned back to look at him. "And no. I mean, what happened with Jade was just the manifestation of your power, but it's more than that. I..." He paused, then his gaze flicked over to Master Blackbourne and back so fast I almost missed it. "We knew you were a manifest the instant we each met you. The feeling in my gut when I saw you that night, curled up on top of your Legacy, was unmistakable, but it wasn't until later that night that I knew exactly what you were to me.

"To you?" I mumbled, not even realising I'd spoken aloud until I felt someone step up beside me and twine their warm fingers with my gloved ones. My breath hitched as my body instinctively reacted to the unfamiliar touch, but I fought to remain still. I wouldn't allow my insecurities, or my past to ruin my fledgling friendships with these people, who had already given me more of themselves than anyone I'd ever known.

"To all of us," Victor said softly, leaning into my side slightly as Kota nodded in agreement. I released a lungful of air slowly, giving my body time to relax and grow accustomed to his presence. A soft smile spread across my face as I mentally added Victor to my rapidly-growing list of people whose touch didn't make me want to run. It wasn't like with Silas yet, an exchange that now felt as effortless as breathing, but I squeezed his hand gently to let him know I was comfortable with this development in our friendship.

"I don't understand," I explained, shifting my gaze from Victor's face back to Kota. He pressed his lips tightly together, as his gaze drifted to a point just north of my right ear. He looked like he was thinking hard, perhaps trying to figure out how to make me understand. I felt like I was missing something, something obvious or hidden away in a dusty corner of my mind, but I was drawing a blank.

"Okay!" Kota exclaimed after a few moments of silence. One of his hand flew up into the air between us, and then his gaze was gone from me. "Luke, you up for a little fairy dust?" I frowned, as I turned to see the boy in question heaving himself up off the ground. Sean let out a strained yelp when he noticed his patient was attempting to stand up, but made no move to stop him. Instead, to my surprise, he simply reached down and attempted to steady Luke's trajectory.

"How big we talking, boss?" Luke asked. He flashed me a smile and a cheeky wink, when he noticed me watching his every move, but the smile didn't quite meet his eyes. The pain in their depths was unmistakable but he wasn't going to bring it up, a true reflection of the stoicism favoured by this family, so I didn't say anything. Sean had hold of his arm anyway. If he looked like he was going to pass out again, I had no doubt that the man would be more than capable of helping him. It wasn't like there was anything I could do anyway, since direct contact would probably leave both of us unconscious.

"That big," Kota said cryptically, flicking an index finger toward the tree that Luke had been nestled beneath. "Thirty seconds, maybe forty. Think you can handle it?" Kota sounded unsure, and I couldn't blame him. I hadn't got a clue what he was talking about, but Luke had been unconscious less than ten minutes ago. Surely he shouldn't be trying to do anything right now, besides securing a big, comfy bed in the infirmary.

"I've held bigger," Luke scoffed, with a soft snort of derision added in for good measure. His expression, pale and drawn as it was, told Kota exactly how he felt about the vote of no confidence.

"Never after cardiac arrest!" Kota reasoned, but Luke shut him down with a raised eyebrow and a hand on hip.

"I can handle it. Do you think Vic will be able to see it?"

"See what...?" Victor started to ask, stepping in front of me. Our fingers remained entwined, so I was forced to move with him or let our hands part. I wasn't ready to release him yet, so I fell into step as he steered us towards Kota. Then, as abruptly as we'd started to move, he stopped dead. "Oh. I've never..."

"I'll do it." Silence reigned absolute, as Master Blackbourne stepped into the small circle that had slowly been formed throughout the conversation thus far. "Victor has never tried to see that far back before, and I can simply take the memory from you, Mr Lee. It is much more economical to allow me to do it."

"But what about...?" Sean started to ask a question, his gaze flickering to my face as he spoke, but he hesitated when the stern man turned to glare at him. "Are you sure?"

"She's going to glimpse the abyss sooner or later," Master Blackbourne told his closest friend calmly, like he was explaining how a car engine functioned or why the sky was blue. "Especially if I'm to teach her. At least this way, she'll be prepared. I am in complete control"

My mouth hung open as continued to watch the bizarre exchange unfolding before me. My mind was working overtime, attempting to make sense of the seemingly incomprehensible jumble of words that was filtering through my eardrums, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I wanted to scream, to beg for an answer, but I didn't want to upset them. If I wasn't even smart enough to keep up with a single conversation, one that they all seemed to instantly understand, how could I hope to keep up with them in the future? Tomorrow, the next day... At some point soon, they were going to realise that I wasn't worth the effort. I swallowed thickly and then opened my mouth again, unsure of what to say yet knowing I had to say something, but North beat me to it.

"Look at her!" he snapped.

"Mr Taylor?" Master Blackbourne sounded confused.

"Just look at her," North repeated, waving an arm toward me. "Look into her eyes and tell me what you see." The older man sighed heavily, but did as he was instructed. Turning to me, he plastered a completely blank expression onto his face and stared at me in silence. I froze in place, eyes fixed on a neutral spot on his left cheek, afraid to so much as breathe under his intense scrutiny.

"I see," he started to say, after a pregnant pause. Then his faux grey eyes widened in uncharacteristic surprise, as he recognised the overwhelming emotion coursing through me. "I see fear!"

"Exactly," North agreed. Rounding on Dr Green, he continued. "You're an empath, aren't you? Can't you see she's terrified?"

"I-I didn't..." My eyes widened as I heard Sean stumble over his words. It was the first time I'd ever witnessed any of these guys falter, even but a little, and a tiny piece of my heart broke for him right then and there. Scared and confused I might be, but the defeat and failure in his eyes at that moment was agonising to see.

"I'm fine," I said, finally finding my voice. I needed to explain myself, before I lost everything. Before my fear took my new life from me.

"No, you're not!" Kota spoke up then, surprising me by snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest for another hug. This time it was me who was holding on for dear life, me using him as a life raft in a storm. I let him hold me for a few moments, shutting out my thoughts and allowing my heart to return to something resembling a normal rhythm. Then, despite wanting nothing more than to stay hidden in the deep creases of his blackened shirt, I pushed away from him to face the rest of his family.

"I am scared," I started to explain. I was proud of how steady and composed my voice sounded, even to my own ears, so I continued. "But not because of any of you. Not directly, anyway." I saw Silas start to shift, to move toward me, but I held up a hand to stop him. I needed to get this out, before anyone else tried to hug or touch me, no matter how addictive those touches were.

"I found out who, or what I'm supposed to be less than..." I trailed off and glanced down at my bare wrist. Seconds later, a tanned arm appeared in front of me, wearing a particularly shiny, gold watch. The logo on it looked familiar, a well-known brand perhaps, but I ignored it and checked the time. "...two hours ago. Today my whole world changed. You may have known what I was days ago, but I need time to process."

I took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment as I debated whether to divulge the rest, but a single, reproachful glance from Master Blackbourne made up my mind for me. He wanted full honesty from me, and he'd likely know if I held back anyway, so I was going to give it to them straight. I was in too deep now to pull my punches.

"Right now, I really need answers." I glanced around the group, first to Kota, then to Luke, Sean and Victor. My gaze fell on Nathan and Gabriel too, but they were both unusually quiet. They were watching me intently, as were North and Silas, so I boarded my honesty train again. "I might not understand everything that's going on, but right now I understand nothing. You're talking about me like I'm not even here, but you say that this affects me now too. Luke looks like he's about to pass out, but Kota wants him to hold up the tree or something."

Kota opened his mouth to speak, but I hurried on. "And I have absolutely no idea what an abyss is, or why it might be a bad thing, because you haven't really told me anything. You want to train me? That's the first I've heard about it. I didn't even know I needed training." My breathing was laboured now, my chest heaving and my cheeks flushed in a way that must have made me look crazy. "And for another thing..."

I paused, realising that I didn't have anything else to say. My jaw snapped shut with an audible click and then I just stood there, shell shocked. What had I just done? In my life, I'd never spoken so many words at one time, and now I'd used them to hurt those around me. Even as frustrated as I was, I couldn't believe how rude I'd been. They didn't owe me anything. They had every right to keep things from me, to conduct conversations without explaining every iota and minutia to me. What was wrong with me?

"Don't." My head snapped up at the soft, barely audible plea. Master Blackbourne was so close to me, I could have leant forward and pressed my face into his lapel. I blinked, but didn't step back or flinch away. I straightened my spine, pressing my knees together and squaring my jaw. I knew what was coming now. I had been insubordinate, had raised my voice in anger. I would face the consequences in silence, respectfully, like my mother had taught me. If nothing else, I was intimately familiar with repentance.

"Please don't." He spoke again, then his hand was flying towards me faster than my eyes could follow. I tried not to flinch away, but I felt the corners of my eyes tighten and my fists clenched reflexively, steeling myself for the impact.

Neither of us moved a single muscle for one endless, agonising moment. I stared up at him, and he stared back into me. I held my breath, and he did the same. His arm was still raised, hovering in place less than a foot from my cheek. I didn't dare to move, so I waited. I was good at waiting. Waiting was always better than what followed.

He broke first.

"Athena, forgive me," he murmured, allowing his shoulders to fall slightly. "It seems I owe you yet another apology, Miss Sorenson." Eyes locked on my face, the outstretched arm shifted a millimetre in my direction. I remained motionless, watching out of the very corner of my eye as it moved another fraction. Slowly, deliberately, the arm continued its arc.

It took a few seconds before I realised what he was doing. He was giving me time; he was allowing me to take control from him, if just for a few moments, and to set the pace. He wasn't going to hurt me. This man would never hurt me. Everything he... any of them had done up to this point had been to protect me, to show me affection that I hadn't thought was possible for someone like me. How could I ever think that he would raise a hand to strike me?

Because that was what my father would do, I thought, answering my own unspoken question.

Because that's what men did!

Because that was all I knew.

The tears were streaming down my cheeks before I realised that I was crying. I released the breath I'd been holding, unable to retain my composure any longer. I met the gaze of the grey-eyed god in front of me, lifting my chin as I blinked away moisture, then his icy fingers were gliding across my skin, sweeping away my tears.

The faint scent of leather hung in the air and I realised that, at some point, he must have slipped on a pair of gloves. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and focused solely on the feel of his touch, on the way that my heated cheek fitted into the gentle curve of his palm like there were each written into existence for this very moment. Nothing else mattered. If I never got answers, if I never truly knew myself, I would take this moment for what it was. This man was nothing like my father. This man was not going to hurt me. This man was my friend.

"You know that I would rather die than cause you pain, don't you?" His voice was gentle this time, but a little of his strength had returned. "You have to know that..."

"I do," I said calmly. I meant it. I had never been forced to ask the question of myself before, but the answer was clear in my mind. "I trust you with my life." I paused. "All of you."

"And we you." Master Blackbourne spoke for all of them. With my eyes still closed, I sensed rather than felt the others around us nod their agreement, but I recognised the significance of this moment. Something had changed irrevocably in the dynamic of the group gathered here, under this broken, damaged tree on the edge of the campus, and I hoped that it would be for the best. I had hope in them, in us.

"Now," the older man continued, letting his hand drop to his side. I felt the loss of his touch like I'd been burned, the flesh flaming almost painfully in the absence of the leather, but I kept silent. We shared a knowing look, and I knew that he felt the separation just as acutely as I had. "Kota, if you would like to continue with your explanation. Only, this time, perhaps a few more details." I heard Sean chuckle from behind Master Blackbourne, but the man didn't move from his position directly in front of me. I didn't think he even noticed he was blocking me from view, and I wasn't about to correct him.

"Let's start again, shall we?" Kota jumped in, smiling apologetically over at me as he stood beside Luke, who looked considerably less pale. Dr Green must have been working his magic on the boy, during my exchange with his oldest brother. "It's hard to explain how I knew for sure that you were, for want of a better phrase, the missing part of my whole. By which, I mean the part of our family that we never knew we were missing, until we met you." I blinked twice, managing to hold back the tears from falling once again, but only barely. "Instead of telling you," he continued, "I'm going to try to show you."

"How?" I knew that he was getting to that, but I couldn't help but ask the question regardless. I knew that they could do some unbelievable, incredible things, but how could he show me something that he couldn't even put into words?

"Do you remember the cafeteria, when Gabriel was able to show you the image of your father that Victor saw, because he channelled Victor's power?" I nodded. I didn't know how they'd done it, but I couldn't deny that I'd seen it with my own two eyes. "Well I want to try to do something similar with Luke."

"Try?" It hadn't seemed to be too much of a struggle for the other two boys, from what I'd seen.

"We've never tried to manifest a mental image as an illusion before," he explained, tipping his head sideways towards Luke as he spoke. "I don't even know if it's possible, to be honest."

"Don't belittle your abilities, Mr Lee. Or Mr Taylor's, for that matter," Master Blackbourne admonished him gently. Kota nodded, but didn't seem surprised by the interjection. I suspected that this was a guy who doubted himself and his ability to lead daily. Which was, ironically, one of the reasons why, in my eyes, he was born to be a leader.

"I wouldn't be contributing much, besides the memory. I need a conduit, to allow Luke to manifest my thoughts as his own. Victor can do it for his own thoughts, but, as I said, we've never tried it with a third person before, or with Luke rather than Gabe."

"...So that's why Master Blackbourne offered to stand in for Victor," I finished, and the man in question flashed me the faintest hint of a smile.

"Precisely, Miss Sorenson. I should be able to pull the memory straight from Mr Lee's mind, especially if it's at the forefront. Then, if Luke is able, we should see what has already been seen."

"If?" Luke muttered incredulously, crossing his arms across his chest. "Just because I've never held an illusion during a melding before, doesn't mean I can't!"

"Melding?"

"When we mix our powers together and see what happens." Nathan explained this time. He smirked. "It can be awesome, or a total disaster."

"Which is why, if we are to attempt this, you need to be far enough away for the others to stop you, if your goddess decides to take over again," Master Blackbourne said. Wait. Was he talking to me? I glanced up to see him staring down at me intently, waiting for my response. Definitely talking to me, then!

"Is that likely?" I asked, frowning.

"It's happened before, when none of us expected it," North offered. I simply blinked at him. He looked confused for a moment, then realisation dawned in his eyes as he remembered my super specific amnesia. "Sorry. I forgot you wouldn't remember that."

"All the more reason to keep her a safe distance from the meld," Victor agreed. I couldn't argue with that.

"Where, then?" All eyes turned to Master Blackbourne, but he was, instead, watching Kota. I didn't know why, but I knew that this was important to him, that Kota be the one to take charge. Likely, the older man recognised the same self-doubt in Kota that I had seen. This was one way that he could demonstrate, in the smallest of ways, that he had faith in his younger brother.

Kota thought for a moment. "Silas, take her back to the edge, where we climbed up. You'll still be able to see the entire clearing, but you'll be close enough to get her clear if it looks like she isn't in control anymore." I made a mental note to bring up said control – and my concerning lapses in it – at a later date. I definitely needed to know everything they could tell me about the minutes I had lost, and what I had done with them, but now was not the time.

Moving into position, I followed the rest of the boys down the hill some distnce, while Luke, Kota and Master Blackbourne gathered at the base of the tree. I watched them intently as they spoke to each other for a few moments, then arranged themselves so that Master Blackbourne was flanked by Luke on the right and Kota on the left. He pulled off the gloves he'd donned to interact with me, and raised an arm out to either side of his torso, so his fingers were hovering over each of their exposed necks.

"What happens ne-" My words were forgotten as Master Blackbourne allowed his arms to drop simultaneously, latching onto the sensitive skin at the nape of each boy's neck so forcefully that it had to be painful. I saw Luke's head snap up, long blonde strands falling free from his hair tie and trailing down his shoulders. Kota flinched visibly, as the taller man's fingers seized him in a vice-like grip, but didn't move. I thought, when I recalled the scene later, that it was probably evidence of Luke's inexperience with the process, rather than of Kota's own fortitude.

The air around the three of them rippled and ruptured, the green and brown of the landscape folding in on itself in a perfect, impossibly smooth halo around Master Blackbourne. I felt a hand curl around my shoulder and glanced to the side just long enough to see that Silas was standing vigil, with North only steps away. They watched me carefully, as if waiting for me to make some move, but I didn't know what. Turning back to the scene unfolding in front of me, I watched in dumbstruck awe as, at the point where oxygen and man met, the fabric of the universe seemed to unknit itself before my eyes. Grass, dust, even light seemed powerless to escape the vacuum that was Master Blackbourne.

"What is that?" I mumbled, mostly to myself, as I began to glimpse a glittering blackness in the sliver of emptiness where life had once been. It was darkness, pure and simple. With no beginning or end, it stretched into oblivion for as far as the eye could see and, in that moment, I'd wager that no telescope or device made by man could fathom an end to the emptiness. It was everything, and it was nothing. It was... an abyss.

Suddenly his words earlier made sense. This was a thing to be feared, to run from. I would be strong, I would stay and bear witness, but I knew now why he had been concerned. It was a terrifying thing indeed.

"Watch," I heard Victor whisper, from the opposite side of me to Silas and North. I blinked, forcibly dragging my gaze from the emptiness of the abyss to the men stood within its inky halo. "Luke is projecting." I turned my attention to Luke, looking for outward signs of effort or strain, anything that might indicate that he was manifesting his powers, but I saw nothing. His face was tensed in concentration but, besides that, he was surprisingly relaxed.

"How can you tell?" I asked, admitting defeat. I just couldn't see it.

"He gets this look on his face," Nathan whispered, leaning in, his breath tickling my ear. "Like he's about to poop. That's how you tell." I gasped in shock at his words, then shoved a hand in front of my face to keep from laughing aloud. I shook with silent laughter and, as his bare arm pressed against my own, I felt his body shaking too. Without looking away from Luke, and what was, undeniably, a pretty constipated expression, I nudged Nathan playful. He nudged me back, harder, and I giggled.

"Stop it, Nate!" I heard Gabriel mutter from behind me and I sobered up instantly. If sunny, carefree Gabriel was taking this seriously, as I should have been, then I couldn't afford to be messing around. If I distracted them by giggling too loudly, I might ruin everything. I didn't want to be the one to ruin Kota's plan. My lips pressed together in a straight, harsh line. I wouldn't mess this up!

A ripple in the air dragged my attention from Luke, out through the halo of the abyss and into the surrounding clearing. The air rippled more gently this time, reminding me of the way the air had shifted before Luke had made the butterflies appear in homeroom, and I waited to see what would appear.

"We came through here that night." I jumped when I heard Kota's voice, booming out loud and clear, even as far away as we were at the far edge of the wide, open space. Before my eyes, the vast tree appeared to knit itself together, the ripples of power emanating from Luke trailing upward and appearing to repair the damage from the lightning strike. The sky grew dark in a tight radius around the tree too, as if night had fallen only in that one small part of the sky.

It was strange. Had there been a storm that night? I didn't remember one, but I had been unconscious for a long time while Kota had been carrying me.

"I passed right by the tree," Kota continued. As if on cue, a figure came striding purposefully into the clearing, passing just feet from when the three of them were grouped. I gaped as I glanced from Kota to Kota, from the real, present Kota to his doppelganger, dressed in black from head to toe. I couldn't see his face but it was unmistakably him, the first person I'd laid eyes on in my new life. I'd recognise him anywhere. "And I stumbled."

Gabriel cursed softly behind me, as we watched the usually graceful Kota trip on a small, exposed root. Through the slightly opaque illusion, I could see that the same root was nowhere to be seen now. I wondered what had happened to it.

"I stumbled because you said my name."

"What?!" I couldn't hold back my shout of surprise, even as I clamped a hand over my mouth as if to try to will the noise back inside. My body quaked as I tried and failed to process his words. I'd never met him until he'd found me that night, I knew that for certain. Or did I? How much of my life was in doubt? What else did I not remember? The fear started to rise in my chest again, threatening to overwhelm me, but Kota's next words held back the tide, as did Silas' fingers snaking around my own.

"You called me Jupiter," he said quickly. "I didn't know you, although I wished, even then, that I did. Your soul, your goddess and the part of you that searched for your true family knew me, and called me by name." I saw the illusory Kota stop dead, standing almost directly between me and the real Kota. He stared down at the prone me cradled in his arms. I couldn't see his face, but his body language conveyed abject shock. I wasn't surprised. If someone I'd never met addressed me by a closely guarded, unspoken name, whilst also unconscious, I'd be shocked too.

"I reached out," the figure followed Kota's description seamlessly, "and brushed a stray hair off your cheek. I didn't know-" _Boom!_ Whatever he'd been about to say was obscured by an almighty roar from the heavens, as the sky roiled inside the radius of the illusion and squalling winds howled overhead.

"Hurry up, Kota!" Luke screamed out, barely audible over the thundering din above him, and I looked over in time to see him start to list to one side. Master Blackbourne still had a strong grip on him, but it seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright. If I hadn't realised yet how strong the central man was, it was now clearly evident. His arm shook under Luke's weight, but it remained high, outstretched and unequivocally strong.

 _Crack!_ The sky erupted in flame as a huge, crackling lightning bolt sliced through the sky, appearing as if from nowhere as it entered the illusion at the uppermost edge. It carved a sizzling, white hot path earthward, until it struck the tree with another thundering crack. In an instant, the huge tree split in two down the very centre, and one side started to bow under the pressure.

"I didn't realise what I'd done until later, when I talked to Master B, but it was enough," Kota said then, cutting through the deafening noise as it ceased between heartbeats. One second it was chaos, the next it was as it appeared now, only shrouded in night. In a single instant, Kota had touched me and the life of this tree had been forever changed by his power.

"Let us go!" Kota told Master Blackbourne then. I waited for the man to comply, but he remained completely motionless, seemingly unaware of Kota's words. The abyss, that halo of emptiness was starting to spread too, I noticed. Little by little, it was starting to blot out the grass and the wide trunk of the tree behind them.

"Is it supposed to do that?" I whispered to anyone who would listen, but Dr Green was quicker than me. Before I opened my mouth, he was hurrying back up the shallow slope towards his three brothers.

"Stop, Owen!" he bit out, but the only response was another clump of grass folding itself smoothly into the emptiness. "Owen, hear me!" Something was wrong! This was clearly not meant to happen, but I didn't know what to do to stop it. What could I do?

"Nephthys?" I whispered, glancing around to make sure the others couldn't hear me. Most of them were focused on Master Blackbourne but Gabriel was peering curiously at me, so I tried again without words. Nephthys? Can you hear me?

No response was forthcoming. I didn't really expect one, if I was honest. I didn't know why she'd chosen to help last time, but it hadn't been through any choice or request of mine. She'd help if she wanted to. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late, if there was something she could do to help.

Dr Green had reached Luke by then. He seemed to be physically repelled by some kind of aura around Master Blackbourne, as he reached towards the taller man, but he managed to reach out and grab hold of Luke. "Luke, you need to wake up," he shouted, leaning in to press his free hand to Luke's bare chest. He was probably trying to revive him, I thought. If Luke was awake, he might be able to get himself free.

The outer halo of the abyss leapt out from the centre twice as far as it had the last time, swallowing up half a dozen small shrubs and plants that grew in the shadow of the gigantic, blackened structure. Sean appeared to try again, as a ripple of power surged between him and Luke. Shielded by the darkness, I barely felt it as the faintest hint of energy breezed past me a few seconds later. Then the abyss leapt outward again.

"He's using the energy," I realised. I repeated my words, louder this time. "He's channelling your power through Luke, Sean! You have to stop." He couldn't hear me. My voice didn't carry far enough. I clenched my fists in frustration, squashing Silas' large fingers as I did so. "He needs to stop!"

"He will," I heard North say, then a roar erupted from his throat. "Sean, stop!"

The healer's head snapped up in recognition and I sighed in relief. Of course he would hear North. How could he not? I imagined that one could probably hear North from clear across campus, if he wanted to be heard. Seconds later, Sean pulled his hands from Luke's unconscious form and stepped back. Relief flooded through me once more, until Sean's back hit an invisible barrier and he bounced off it, stumbling back towards Luke.

"Get out of there, Doc!" North bellowed, taking a step forward. Silas reached out to stop him, but he stopped short of actually charging up the hill.

"I can't!" Dr Green pressed a hand up to the barrier, which, whilst he was in contact with it, glistened black like onyx. I would bet, if I was up close, that it would be creeping closer to us, and distinctly abyss-like, if viewed from a different angle. It seemed that Master Blackbourne – or, more likely, Chaos – had allowed him to enter, but didn't want him leave. From the effect his touch on Luke had had on the rate of expansion, it wasn't hard to see why.

"I'm coming to help." North clearly decided that then was the right time to stop thinking and charge in, all god powers blazing. Thankfully, Silas' arm across his chest slowed him down a bit. Silas' hand slipped from mine as he turned his attention onto his hot-head brother.

"Think about this, North." He spoke calmly, like it was the most casual conversation in the world. "If you go in, you'll get stuck just like Doc."

"We need to do something!" North was still fighting Silas' hold on him, but his fervour seemed to have died down a bit. Hopefully, even North wasn't beyond seeing reason.

"We can't do anything from out here," Silas told him, tugging firmly on North's shirt. "Dr Green needs to find some way to sever the connection or get through to Master B."

"How?" Sean and I asked simultaneously.

"Uh..." Silas paused. "I don't know."

"Can't you, you know, use your powers to make it turn out okay?" I hedged. It was a long shot, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the question, no matter how stupid it sounded.

"Not against Chaos," came the reply. "I already thought of that but, in training, I tried betting against Master B. You remember I told you there were always exceptions?" I nodded. "Well you're looking at one of them."

Nephthys, this would be a great time for you to, I don't know, do something goddess-y,I thought earnestly. Again, I wasn't expecting a response, but I had no other options that I could see.

 _This should be interesting._

 _"_ What?" I asked aloud. Silas and North both shot me confused looks, confirming my suspicions. The voice I'd just heard had been inside my head.

Hello? I didn't know how to direct my thoughts her way, so I waited to see if she talked again.

 _Why are you waiting?_

I blinked in surprise, glancing up to see five pairs of eyes watching me intently, before I internalised my focus again. Uh, because I need your help, I tried to project. It seemed to work, because the voice spoke again.

 _Dear girl. You don't need my help. The solution is simple._

What? What do you mean? I need more than that! I felt my brows furrow in concentration as I thought furiously to myself and to the goddess who might or might not be listening, but she didn't speak again. She obviously felt that she'd done her part, and that now it was up to me.

"Are you going to go all badass goddess on us again?" Gabriel asked after a few minutes. I sighed, lifting my chin to meet his piercing gaze.

"Unfortunately, no," I told him. "She said I can do it by myself."

"Good!" Nathan cut in, before Gabriel could respond. "That thing with your eyes is freaky as all hell!" Despite everything, I grinned. I knew Nathan the least of all of them, having only met him properly that morning, but I couldn't wait to get to know him better. He seemed fun.

"That is," Victor struggled to find the right words, "incredibly irritating."

"Tell me about it." I froze, an idea rocketing through my brain at a million miles an hour. "No, really! Say that again." My eyes widened as I stared at Victor. It couldn't possibly be that simple, could it?

"Um. This is incredibly irritating," Victor repeated hesitantly, unsure as to my grip on my mental faculties more than likely.

"Irritating," I parroted. "That's it!" I turned back to Dr Green, and the darkness that was starting to reach the edges of the clearing to my left and right, where the other trees were closer. I really hoped this worked. "Sean." I put every ounce of strength and power I had into my voice, throwing it as far as I could make it go. When he turned to look at me, I knew it was enough.

"Focus on Master Blackbourne," I told him. "You need to bring out his human side, the side of him that knows that this is bad news!"

"How?"

"Irritation," I called back. "Irritation is an entirely human emotion. What is the most irritating thing you could do to him right now?"

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Silas asked, the doubt evident in his voice, but I ignored him. I had to believe that this would work. It had to work!

"I could tickle him," Dr Green suggested. As amusing a mental image as that was, it wasn't going to be enough. It needed to be enough to drag him back into his own mind, from beyond Chaos' reach. For that, it needed to be more than a gentle annoyance.

"Think bigger," I urged. "Best you've got!"

 _Crack!_ For a second, I thought that Kota had called down another bolt of lightning, then Sean's palm impacted with Master Blackbourne's cheek so hard that I saw the other man's jaw break in several places on impact. The doctor put everything he had into the slap, so much so that he actually stumbled forward as he made contact.

No one moved for two... three... four agonizingly long seconds, then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. A groan of pain from the man partially concealed by Dr Green.

"What was that?" That was Kota's voice. I sought out the voice in an instant, only to see that his eyes were fluttering open. He reached up and pulled the taller man's hand from his neck and stepped free. At that exact moment, the abyss vanished, leaving behind what had been lost. Then, Master Blackbourne's eyes opened and he released Luke, who started to fall, only to be caught by Sean as he lunged forward.

"That," Nathan said softly, so only the six of us huddled at the edge of the clearing could hear him. "Was a close one!"

~V~

"Did you do as instructed?" I asked the pathetic creature before me. The filthy shirt hung so loosely off his torso that I doubted he had any flesh left on his bones, but he was nothing if not loyal. And, as I knew only too well, loyalty was worth far more than the largest treasure store of the greatest of the Kings of Old.

"It was done as you requested, majesty."

"And the diversion?" This was the crucial part of the plan. I would accept nothing less than perfection from those in my service.

"Worked exactly as you said it would," the creature confirmed. I couldn't help but smile at that, although he would see nothing but immaculate composure. The mask I wore would take care of that. "Those puny gods fell for the bait, once we took care of their guards. The traitor was able to make the exchange at the second entry point."

"No mistakes?" My eyes narrowed. I would hate to have to kill him, he who had been with me since the very start, but I could not condone missteps.

"None!" I smiled again. Perfect.


	15. Chapter 15: Infirmary Games

A lifetime seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye, my body an isolated, immovable singularity in the maelstrom of reality, as my surroundings surged and swirled around me. I barely registered the rumble of several deep voices conversing animatedly behind me. My eyes tracked the movement of several figures as they swept down the hilltop towards me, but couldn't make sense of what I was seeing. Instead, my whole being was reverberating with the deafening crack that had perforated the air just seconds earlier. As quickly as the memory would die away, my mind would cast back and replay it. It was sickening, agonising and all together unbearable, but I couldn't halt the sensory overload.

"Miss Sorenson?" I gasped and staggered backwards, the thrall abruptly shattered by the sound of my own name. Master Blackbourne. It was his face that had filled my mind, the moment replaying over and over as his brother shattered his jaw... because of me! My head snapped up to meet his eye, blinking away the haze that still permeated my brain. He was talking to me, tone commanding my attention, and I was powerless to refuse. I had caused him pain, unspeakable pain. For the faintest hope of forgiveness, I'd do anything he asked of me.

"I..." I tried to say, but he cut me off with a wave of an unnervingly shaky hand.

"I know what you're going to say, and you have no need to apologise. Once again, it is I who owes you an apology." My gaze traced the flat, sharp planes of his face, searching for the damage that I'd witnessed Dr Green wreak. Nothing. Frowning, I tilted my head to one side and stared harder. There was a bruise, that was for sure, a black and blue monstrosity that bloomed from the centre of his cheek and down his neck until it disappeared beneath his once-white dress shirt. However, the noise that I couldn't seem to escape, even now, was consistent with significantly more structural damage than the smooth, bruised perfection that towered over me.

"I heard it break," I whispered. I had, hadn't I? There was no way I had imagined that, was there?

"Dr Green." He spoke softly, almost as breathlessly as I had, but the authority and power of his words still washed over me in ripples. His voice no longer made me want to run and hide, but the subtle urge to kneel in prostration would likely persist for a long time to come.

"Oh. Why didn't he heal the bruise all the way?" He paused, a tiny, millimetre smile threatening to twitch the muscle beneath that striking, discoloured cheek. He looked... proud!

"I asked him not to," he explained. I must have been unable to hide my confusion, because he continued. "What happened was my fault. If it heals this way, the long way, it will serve as a reminded that I am no more removed from weakness than I am from hubris."

"But..."

"This is not your fault, Miss Sorenson. I have maintained the balance of Chaos for so long that I got complacent. I thought myself above such a simple mistake as a lapse in concentration. I allowed myself to become lost in the abyss, in the power that has been entrusted to me, and I forgot my own self. Believe me when I say that it will never happen again, so long as you are with me."

"What would have happened?" I finally asked the question that had been pushed aside by my guilt, but which was fighting to get out. "What was that blackness? I don't really understand what happened."

"I guess that I owe you an explanation." He sighed. "That was the abyss, the realm of Chaos."

"Woah," I muttered, and Master Blackbourne nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Do you remember...?" A groan of pain to my left caught our attention at the same moment, cutting off whatever he had been about to say. I turned my focus, instead, to Luke, who was in the process of being lowered onto a stretcher by two unfamiliar men in green scrubs. Sean was gesticulating back towards a blackened puncture wound on Luke's ribcage from further down the hill, and seemed to be explaining to yet another man what had happened, but I couldn't help but get stuck on the forlorn figure being lowered onto the slats of the gurney.

"You okay, Luke?" I asked, glancing apologetically back at Master Blackbourne before I hurried to his side. The older man just nodded, the unspoken promise of an explanation impossible to mistaken in his features. Go to Luke first, his eyes seemed to say, despite the grey contacts that served to conceal the truth of his gaze. I understood. His duty was to his family, first and foremost. That idea seemed like something these boys lived - and almost died - by.

"Oi, meathead," Gabriel called out, when Luke didn't immediately respond to my query. "Sang asked you a question." The blond boy's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, his back pressed flat against the stretcher laid out on the grass, and I glared at Gabriel for his rudeness, but I could muster up no real irritation. The grim expression on his face told me that he was trying to lighten the mood as best as he could, and I could see that Luke was likely not paying attention to either of us right now.

"Luke?" I reached his side, glancing down to check on my gloves, before touching a hand lightly to his exposed shoulder and squeezing gently. I should have probably been embarrassed that I was essentially caressing his naked torso, but it didn't seem like the time or place. I'd allow myself to blush beet red later, when I knew that my friend was going to be okay.

"By the gods, that hurts!" I jumped, yanking my hand back as Luke spat out the words harshly. I was afraid for a moment that I'd hurt him, that I was the reason for his tone and gritted teeth, but then his arm snaked up and out towards me, fingers searching for mine. "Sang, please?"

I gulped loudly, unsure what help I could possibly be, but then a familiar presence stepped up behind me and a warm hand came to rest against my hip. "Distract him." I turned, leaning into Silas' tall frame for a few reassuring seconds, breathing in his scent deeply, then did as he asked, wrapping Luke's large hand in both of mine. If that was what he wanted, that's what he'd get, I thought decisively.

"I'm here."

Five minutes later, we were no closer to removing Luke to the infirmary, or figuring out what to do next. The black cloud looming over the Academy had, apparently, dissipated like smoke while we'd been distracted by the scenes unfolding beneath the lightening tree, according to the healers that were fussing around the prone boy. It had been unrelenting, they'd said, unstoppable and determined to break through the defences surrounding the school. It had behaved like a single, coherent entity, killing the perimeter guards before engaging my boys, but then, just as quickly as it had whipped up, it had been gone, carried away on the wind. There had been no hint of coalescence then, they told us almost reverently. It was as if whatever, or whoever, had been controlling it had just given up.

I didn't know what to make of that pronouncement, since I was still unsure what or who might have the power to do such a thing in the first place, but Master Blackbourne seemed convinced that there was something more going on. He was on his way to speak to Principal Hendricks now, or would have been if we weren't still stuck on the top of this hill.

"This is getting us nowhere," North muttered, glaring over at Victor for suggesting that our focus should be on figuring out the cause of the storm. "Raven seemed to know more about the attacker, and what they wanted, but he's still unconscious." He glanced over at the nearest healer, who nodded to confirm his suspicions. I vaguely remembered the battered and bruised Russian saying something about that - about me, in fact - but it felt like a lifetime ago now. I considered bringing it up, but thought it would be better if I kept my mouth shut for the time being. Things were already crazy enough, without suggesting that I thought that I might, for whatever reason, be involved. That was crazy, and ridiculously self-centred. No, I'd wait to see what Raven remembered when he woke.

"We can't just..." Victor started to argue.

"Kota," I heard Master Blackbourne say quietly. In seconds, the entire group fell silent. Even the additional healers held their breaths, as the imposing man spoke. "What say you?" All eyes turned to the younger boy, his shoulders wilting slightly under the weight of our gaze. He thought carefully, staring out over the campus below us.

"I say we split up. Tackle this based on our strengths." He focused on me, still tucked in beside Luke, our hands clasped together. I was down on one knee, my gloved hands resting feather-like on his sternum so his raised arm wouldn't add pressure to his shoulders or back muscles, and so I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eye. I thought about standing, but Luke's fingers were too tight around mine. I wouldn't try to break our connection, even to address Kota.

"Sang, you and Sean will accompany Luke and Healer Josiah to the infirmary. Luke needs to rest and," he smiled affectionately, "he seems quite attached to you right now. Dr Green, North is right. We need Raven conscious, if we're going to find out what we're up against." Sean nodded once, then started packing up the assorted medical supplies that had been strewn around the stretcher.

"You'll need someone else to help carry the stretcher," Kota added as an apparent afterthought. "I need everyone I can muster to help at the breach," he explained, nodding at North as he moved to stand at his side. "But I don't want to leave Sang unprotected, if there's another attack."

"I'll go," Silas offered immediately, followed by similar assertions from Gabriel, Victor and Nathan. Master Blackbourne stayed silent, but I wasn't offended or surprised. I knew he had more important business to attend to than babysitting me. Truthfully, I was grateful for the thought at all, no matter who volunteered.

"Sang, it's your choice." To my surprise, Kota ignored the quartet of protests and addressed me instead. My choice? How was I meant to make that kind of choice? I mean, life and death it was certainly not, but I didn't want to upset anyone.

"Um..." I glanced around the loose, natural circle we'd formed, glancing from Victor's hopeful grin to Gabriel's mischievous smirk. This was the first choice I'd had to make since I'd been accepted into their little family - my family, I reminded myself, warmth spreading through my chest - and I didn't want to screw it up. "Nathan?"

His name came out as a question, hesitant and awkward, but I knew, as I spoke, that it was the right choice. I barely knew this newest acquaintance, whom I'd met mere hours ago, but I knew that I dearly wanted to. This would give us the chance to interact, away from the madness of the group as a whole, and I found myself excited by the prospect. Yes. He was my choice.

"Nice," Nathan exclaimed, with a little fist pump. I giggled, my cheeks twitching as I noticed Sean's playful grimace, but then stopped abruptly so that I didn't shake Luke any further.

"It's sorted then," Kota announced firmly. "Everyone else, follow me." He paused, face falling as he caught my eye again, but continued. "We need to bring the bodies in and take them to the sanctuary." He grimaced, seemingly struggling to keep his emotions in check, so Master Blackbourne stepped forward and took over.

"They deserve nothing less. We'll perform last death rites at twilight." Again, I wanted to ask the obvious question, but I knew that it wasn't the time. I got the feeling that I'd find out soon enough anyway.

"Everyone happy?" Kota asked, swallowing thickly and smiling gratefully up at his brother. No one spoke. "Okay. Be careful; we need to look after each other until we figure out what's going on. Trust no-one." The man he'd identified as Josiah coughed conspicuously, but said nothing. He didn't need to. He, as we all did, knew that the perpetrator could be anyone, even... I hesitated to even think the words. I trusted them. I did! So why did I suddenly feel so nervous?

"Drowning? Ooh, I know, a desperate cry for attention?!"

"No, and hell no!" Nathan was starting to get annoyed, his tone notably more exasperated than entertained. Luke's guesses were quickly devolving from intelligent to downright flippant, as he exhausted his list of plausible guesses, but Nathan was either too stubborn or too masochistic to admit defeat.

The red-haired boy was currently sprawled out on the grey tiles of the infirmary floor, stomach pressed against the cold surface, flailing wildly with his arms as though he were trying to somehow swim breaststroke through air. A moment ago he'd been on his back, core muscles clenched painfully as he waved his legs in the air. He'd claimed that it would help to show us a new action, with which we might attempt to guess the key word that he'd pulled from Luke's left sock - the hat in our impromptu game of 'Guess the Random Thing I'm Thinking Of', in the absence of a real one - but it hadn't worked. I was doing more laughing and gasping for air than guessing, and Luke's pain medication made his guessing skills suspect at best.

"I'm sorry. I give up," I admitted, after wracking my brain one last time. Glancing over at Luke, he shook his head to indicate that he, too, had run out of ideas.

"Damn it!" Nathan exclaimed, pushing himself slowly up off the floor. "I was a mermaid, guys. C'mon! It was obvious..." He trailed off, looking from me to Luke and back. "Really?"

"Sorry, but that wasn't like any mermaid I've ever seen," Luke said with a shrug. I watched carefully for any sign of pain in his face at the movement, but couldn't see any. Whatever the concoction was that Sean had given him, it had worked wonders when combined with the man's healing touch. The colour in his cheeks was now a healthy pink, partly due to the warmth of the room and the twelve blankets he'd been buried under, but he really did look much better.

"Who wants to go next?" Nathan asked. Luke and I shrugged in unison. The cheeky, blond boy had already won by a landslide, even whilst partially incapacitated. It had helped hugely in that, as compensation, he'd been allowed to use his powers, but I didn't mind. I'd just enjoyed spending time with the two of them. Luke had suggested silly games, to pass the time until Raven woke up and Luke was up and about, and we'd readily agreed.

'Rabbit'. 'Plane'. 'Leonardo DiCaprio'. Sean had done a good job of filling the sock with prompts, before he'd gone to check on the other patients. When I'd pulled 'candy bar' out on my turn, I'd been a little worried that I'd make a fool of myself, but Luke had loved it. It had been nice to see him smile, even while bedridden, so I'd done my best to enjoy it and let go my inhibitions. I wasn't sure I would have been able to do it in front of the others, especially not Master Blackbourne, so I was glad I'd found myself alone with these two, if just for a while.

"Let's play a different game," Luke mused. "After all, I'm unbeatable at this one."

"You cheated..." Nathan began to grumble, although the widespread grin on his handsome face gave him away. As they started to debate the next game, I watched them, a small smile on my own lips. We'd been in the infirmary for several hours now. After the initial rush of healers, medicines and bandages, the four - then three - of us had been left alone for a long while. Conversation had quickly turned to the attack, but no one had been in the mood to discuss what the others were having to deal with at that moment, across the other side of the campus.

Eventually, we'd settled on games, an activity that allowed us to interact without reliving memories that were best left buried for the moment. I was glad. I needed to discuss everything with Master Blackbourne, including the mystery figure I was sure I'd seen during the illusory bird attack, before Luke had gotten hurt and everything had been turned upside down. However, I definitely didn't need to burden these kind-hearted boys with my concerns, until I was certain I wasn't imagining danger where there was none. No! For the time being, I'd decided, I'd play along and pretend that everything was okay. That I was okay. That I was safe.

"Sang?" Nathan asked, a while later. I was sitting on the edge of the large bed, propped up next to a sleeping Luke, who had an arm slung around my shoulders. More accurately, his arm was draped across the blanket around my shoulders, since the last thing we wanted today was for me to pass out again.

"Yes, Nathan?" I shifted gently to look him in the eye, careful not to jostle Luke and wake him up. He'd eaten lunch, aided by myself and Nathan as much as he'd allow, and then promptly fallen asleep, after insisting he needed me to sit beside him so he'd feel safe. I'd laughed at first, but the puppy-dog eyes and pleading look he'd sent me hadn't felt much like a joke. I'd agreed, with the caveat of the blanket for both of our protection, and that had been that.

"What did she say to you? Your goddess, I mean." He sounded curious.

"What? When?" I didn't understand the question. I was sure that the others would have told him everything he'd missed out on by now. He knew that I never remembered my apparent episodes as a super-charged goddess with amnesia.

"Before Sean pulled Master B out of his funk," he elaborated. That was a nice way to spare me my guilt, without explicitly addressing the fact that I forced Sean to hit his best friend, that was for sure. However, I was still confused.

"Nathan, did I do something?" I couldn't remember any loss of time, any sign that I might have forgotten an episode again. What if I'd done something, hurt someone and they'd been too nice to tell me! My stomach churned. "What happened?"

"Calm down, honey," he urged me gently, flapping his hands as he glanced over to make sure I hadn't woken his brother. "It's okay. You didn't go Super Saiyan again. Your eyes were beautiful and green the whole time."

"Oh, good!" I breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn't know what 'Super Saiyan' was, but I knew what he meant. I hadn't hurt anyone. Wait! He'd called me beautiful.

Well... he'd called my eyes beautiful, to be specific. Still, it made my insides fizz pleasantly and a soft blush rise into my cheeks. He'd called me 'honey' too. Was that a nickname? Was that a name he used with everyone, or just with me? I frowned at the thought of him calling other people honey, but I reminded myself that I barely knew him. That could be his pet name for a girlfriend, another friend; anyone, really. For all I knew, it might have even been a mistake, although I wasn't going to ask him!

"If I didn't...?" I started to ask, once I'd managed to shove thoughts of girlfriends and pet names from my mind. "I mean, why did you ask, if nothing happened?"

"You said she spoke to you," he told me. He was watching me intently and I looked down, focusing on Luke's peaceful face to avoid his inquisitive gaze. "Nobody knew what to do. You went all quiet and closed your eyes, like you were praying. You said that she spoke to you, but she told you that you didn't need her help. All of a sudden, you knew what to do." He paused, blowing out a breath. "It was amazing!"

"I don't remember any of that, Nathan!" I insisted, twisting my fingers together in my lap to avoid a full blown panic attack. All of a sudden, Luke's blank, unseeing face looked judgemental and annoyed, although I knew that was impossible. I fixed my gaze on my lap instead, safe from all prying eyes. "Why does she keep doing this to me?" My face contorted in sudden, uncontrollable irritation. What kind of goddess would choose a person and then toy with them like this? Why me?

 _Because you need to believe in yourself, my darling child._

"What?" I asked aloud.

 _Once you learn to love yourself, we'll do great things. Until then, I'll protect you from yourself ._

"What did you say, Sang?" Nathan asked. I blinked, shaking my head a few times. What had I been saying?

"Never mind. I just don't understand why she makes me forget." I sniffed, tucking the blanket tighter around my body. I leaned into Luke, trying to relax my tense frame.

"I don't know either, honey," he said reassuringly, reaching over to stroke my blanketed shoulder gently. "But I'll help you find out. I promise!"

"Okay," I mumbled, smiling shyly down at my chest. I wasn't ready to look at him, but I knew he would be able to see the gratitude flooding my face. I felt like maybe, with Nathan in my corner, I'd finally start to figure out what I was meant to be - who I was meant to be.

For several minutes, we sat together in comfortable silence. After a while, I glanced up at Nathan's face but he looked deep in thought. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was just slightly open, which I thought looked adorably child-like. It reminded me that, whilst these boys acted like warriors and kings, racing around and saving the world, they were still just as vulnerable as I felt. They felt fear and pain, just like I did. I wasn't alone in all of this. Just maybe, they might come to need me even a fraction as much as I'd started to depend on them.

"Sang," he said after a while. My name came out loudly, louder than he'd meant it to, because he jumped a little at the sound of his own voice. He smirked sheepishly, both of us freezing in place as Luke stirred, but he just muttered my name softly, pulling me tighter to him, and then relaxed again. "Oops."

"Yes, Nathan?" I whispered, grinning up at him from my position pinned against his brother. I wasn't getting out of his grip easily, that was for sure.

"I don't want to call you 'honey'. It doesn't do you justice, not by a long way."

"Oh, okay." I didn't know what to say to that. "What _do_ you want to call me?"

"I don't suppose you'd let me call you 'goddess', would you?"

I laughed, unable to stop the shaking of my shoulders in time to avoid jostling my bed mate. However, Luke didn't stir this time.

"Definitely not," I said categorically. I definitely didn't need that kind of pressure on my shoulders. Not to mention, I was woefully unworthy of the moniker. More so than either of us could probably comprehend, in fact.

"What then?" he mused, tapping his chin in concentration and glancing up to the ceiling, as though that would help. "How about...?" He paused for so long that I thought he'd lost his train of thought. "What about 'peanut'?" His face screwed up in disgust. "No, that's no good. I need something that will be good enough for you."

"I like 'peanut'," I offered. It was cute, and it didn't make me feel nearly as inadequate, unlike his previous suggestion. I shrugged, in case he thought I was being rude by showing preference for the option that he clearly disliked.

"Really?" He sounded doubtful, yet his expression was one of contemplation. He seemed to be considering it.

"Sure. I'd like anything you chose..." I realised my mistake as he opened his mouth to speak, and I cut him off before he could say the words. "Except 'goddess'! That one is not on the table."

"Hey, 'peanut' it is then." He raised his hands in mock surrender at the determination in my face. "Just tell me if you decide you hate it, 'kay?"

"I will," I promised. I wouldn't. It was mine. It was the name that he'd given me, and hands down the best gift I'd ever been given. I'd never get tired of it. The fact that he'd cared enough to give it to me meant that I'd love it until the day I died. A beatific smile spread across my face, faster than I would have ever thought possible. Nathan returned my smile with a huge one of his own. His cheeks dimpled a little at the corners of his mouth and, in that moment, I couldn't recall a more wonderful sight in all the world. I'd do anything to make him smile at me like that all the time.

"Nathan?" A crazy thought occurred to me in the spur of the moment, and I wanted to vocalise it before I chickened out.

"Yes, _Peanut?"_ I giggled. Perfect!

"Maybe... maybe I could call you..." I swallowed, suddenly doubting my resolve.

"Peanut, you can call me anything under the sun if it would make you happy. Even 'goddess'. Thor won't mind... I don't think." He winked, but I was suddenly too nervous to return it.

"I-I..." I tried again. "I could call _you_ 'honey'. It could be..." I trailed off abruptly. This was a stupid idea. He probably called someone else 'honey'. It had to have been a mistake. I was an idiot...

"It could be our thing!" he exclaimed. His normally serious blue eyes sparkled with glee, and he stood up excitedly. "It's perfect." He took a step towards me, blinking furiously. As he got closer, I spotted a single tear trembling on the brink of falling from his eye. "May I?" He held his arms out. I wasn't sure what he wanted, so I didn't move, but then he stepped forward again.

"I don't..." Suddenly I understood. I pushed up off the bed carefully, nudging Luke's fingers clear of my shoulder as firmly as I dared. "Sure." He beamed again, leaning down to pull me into his arms. I made sure to keep my skin well clear of his bare arms, instead burying my face into his tank top as I wrapped my arms around his waist. It felt... it just felt right. Natural. This was what friendship was meant to be. This was who I could be, if I was one of them. This was what I wanted, more than anything, and, if this was to be my first and last time being held by this wonderful boy, I was going to remember this forever.

"You're perfect," my Honey whispered, his breath gusting past my exposed ear. I wasn't sure whether he meant for me to hear or not, so I just squeezed my eyes shut, willing the tears to remain unshed. I didn't know where we went from here, or if this would even work, but I was in way too deep to walk away now. I just held on tighter, willing myself not to drown.

"Nathan?" I jumped at the unexpected sound.

"Yes, Luke?" I held my breath as the blond boy's breathing sped up.

"You're squashing my spleen."


	16. Chapter 16: A Warrior's Soul

"North, don't!"

"Shut up, Doc."

"Look at them though. You can't tell me you don't wish that was you."

I shifted slightly, curling in tighter around the soft pillow beneath me, wishing that the hushed conversation taking place above me would take itself elsewhere. I got the feeling that I should wake up, or at the very least pay attention, but I was too comfortable. I tucked my head into the warm fabric beneath me, feeling the muscular arm around me tighten reflexively at the movement.

Wait! What?

I shot upright in a heartbeat, pushing myself up and off the body beneath mine. I heard a pained groan as my fingers pressed into a lean torso, my eyes snapping open in shock before my temple smacked, hard, into something solid. A spark, like I'd been shocked by a live wire, rippled through my body, rattling my teeth, and I thought I might pass out, but I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and concentrated on breathing deeply until it passed. Ouch!

"Ow!" My subconscious had an echo. I blinked the sleep from my eyes a few times, pressing a palm to my temple as I tried to figure out who else had spoken.

"What the hell, baby?" North's face swam into view as my vision cleared, scowling down at me as he mirrored my gesture and massaged his own forehead. "That hurt!"

"Ow," I repeated, leaning back slightly to escape his personal space, before realising that I had another person on the opposite side of me, the person I'd been using as a living pillow. Slipping off the low bed, socks slipping slightly against the grey tiles below me, I turned to see Luke peering up at me in confusion.

"What's going on?" he asked. I shrugged, fuzzy half-asleep brain unlikely to be able to offer up any information he didn't already know, and then glanced back up at his taller, grumpier brother.

"North?" My head felt like it was going to explode. I rubbed at my temple again, as if that might somehow relieve my headache.

"Doc?" he muttered, stepping away from me and turning to look at the other person in the room. A wide smile and a wink greeted me as I peered around North, before the man in question stepped up beside the bed.

"Hey, sweet cheeks," he said, with a small wave. I must have grimaced, tiredness temporarily robbing me of a mental filter, because he laughed. The sound was soft and smooth, like chocolate or honey. It didn't make my headache go away but, oddly enough, it did seem like it helped. "Not that one then. Damn it. I'll have to try better next time."

"Huh?" I wondered how long I'd been out for. I wasn't usually quite this obtuse.

"Your nickname," he explained. Oh. I'd forgotten about his intent to find his own nickname for me. In that case, yeah. Sweet cheeks was awful. If completely awake, I wouldn't have let him know I hated it, but I couldn't bring myself to feel bad. A perfect nickname might well exist, but that was not it!

"Anyway," he continued. "What's going on is that it's almost twilight. We need to go now, if we are going to perform last rites today."

"Damn," Luke muttered. Swinging his legs over the near side of the bed, he gratefully accepted North's arm as he steadied himself and hopped down. "How long were we out for? It feels like ten minutes."

"Close. It was eight hours," North told him wryly, grunting as he shifted his arm to support more of Luke's weight. I started to move to help but then paused, arms outstretched, as I studied the injured boy's bare chest. I had no idea how I'd avoided touching Luke in my sleep – it was a miracle that we hadn't done any damage to the small infirmary room – but I couldn't risk that happening with either of them while we were both awake. One misstep would be all it would take to set something on fire or bring a repressed nightmare to life.

"Wait." I glanced around, frowning as I realised we were missing someone. "Where's Nathan?" I could have sworn that he'd been there when I'd lain down, which, if North was to be believed, had been several hours earlier.

"He's already down at the temple," North explained. Sean nodded his agreement and I echoed his movement, even if I wasn't sure where that was or why he'd gone there. The medic must have recognised the confusion in my eyes because he turned his back on the stumbling pair of manifests and focused his keen gaze on me.

"Do you remember seeing the miniature Colosseum at the heart of campus when you arrived?" He cocked an eyebrow thoughtfully. "I seem to remember Kota saying he took you through the main courtyard." I nodded.

"He did." It wasn't a structure I'd ever refer to as miniature, but I had a vivid mental image of a mighty, imposing structure, hewn from stone, nestled at the exact centre of the complex. "What about it?"

"Sweet Sang," he mused, flashing me a sad smile. "I sometimes forget how unscathed you are by the ravages of war. Gods willing, you will remain that way for many long years to come, however fleeting that hope may be." He paused, glancing over his shoulder as North manoeuvred Luke carefully through the open doorway. "Let's make this the short version. Walk with me?"

I nodded as he waved a hand across his body, indicating that I ought to follow the boys out of the infirmary. I hurried to acquiesce, feeling him follow close behind as I stepped out into the cool air of the empty hallway.

"Okay," Sean continued, pulling the door closed and matching my pace as I joined the slow procession toward the exit. "We rarely use the Colosseum anymore. It is imbued with the power of the gods, and that can be a vital source of protection or guidance to those who seek it, but it also serves as the final resting place of those who die the death of a warrior, in service to the school and its people."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say. What could I say? "I..."

"It's fine," he said quickly. I breathed a sigh of relief. This conversation was necessary, that much was clear, but that didn't help make it any easier. "As I said, its primary function is as a mausoleum. However, it also serves as a funeral venue, which is where we are heading now." I glanced down at my filthy shirt and noticed that I had more than one large red scratch on my exposed left knee. I wasn't dressed for a funeral.

"It's not that kind of funeral," Sean assured me gently, following my gaze. "The Valkyries perform last rites, a ceremony to honour to fallen dead and to point them towards Valhalla. The bodies are then burned, allowing the part of their soul that houses their gods-given power to return to the Pantheon for renewal."

"Okay, now you lost me," I admitted sheepishly. I shrugged, smiling apologetically up at Sean. He chuckled, although the mirthful sound was somewhat muted under the circumstances.

"I could explain," he offered, "but it would be better for you to see it for yourself." He tilted his head to the side, shifting my gaze beyond us to our surroundings. I gasped in surprise as a thick, stone column, followed by a set of wide, deep-set stone steps manifested in front of my eyes. We had arrived. I didn't even remember the walk, so engrossed was I in Sean's words.

The interior of the Colosseum was vast, the lofty, gilded ceiling and open-plan layout providing an intimidating backdrop for the scenes I bore witness to. The elevated balcony where I stood provided a sweeping, unbroken view of the entire room, as I hugged the stone balustrade that separated me from a twenty-foot freefall. Below me, the thirty or so Valkyries that lived in my dorm, barefoot and dressed in polished, brown leather armour, circled slowly, chanting in a language I assumed was Greek. They formed a wide, arcing loop around two small, solitary white shrouds, which covered two bodies lying prone in the sand at the heart of the Colosseum. From here, they looked altogether too diminutive to cover the brave men I knew lay beneath. Men who had died to save me and everyone else on this campus, I reminded myself soberly.

No. Not nearly big enough. The entire world wasn't big enough by half to bear witness to their sacrifice.

"They are calling out for Freyja." I jumped as I felt a presence at my left shoulder a fraction of a second before Gabriel's hushed baritone washed over me. A solitary tear rolled down my cheek, but I swiped it away. I wouldn't cry. I would be strong. "She's already here." Gabriel paused, allowing me the second or two it took for me to recall who his patron goddess was, then continued. "But it's courteous to invite her anyway."

"What will happen then?" I whispered, turning so that I could keep the ceremony in sight whilst also focusing on Gabriel's handsome profile. "Will she do something?"

"She won't need to," he explained. "It all works fairly automatically right now, since she's a bit busy riding shotgun with me." Gabriel grinned instinctually, but then his face fell as he caught sight of one of the fluttering white cloths that covered the two fallen members of Kota's security team.

"Joel El Shaddai. Darren Chung." My attention was jerked back to the balcony and beyond, as the low hum of the chanting below us ended abruptly. I shuffled closer to the edge, Gabriel and I straining to hear every word that was spoken. I didn't want to miss a second of it and, from the look of concentration on Gabriel's face, I wasn't the only one. "We bear witness to your final sacrifice."

I didn't know why they were speaking English now, instead of Greek, but I wasn't complaining. I wanted to know everything. Karen spoke then, her high, clear voice echoing off the stone walls like a ricocheting bullet. Silence fell, stifling the breath in my lungs and appearing to cause time to freeze. It was as though the entire world waited, on a knife edge, for each word she spoke.

"Evil attacked our place of safety. Our sanctuary," she intoned. She looked to be in some kind of trance, but I didn't know how much of that was ceremonial and how much was an act. Gabriel had said that it was mostly a formality, but it felt so real that I wondered how tangible Freyja was right now. "You gave your lives," Karen continued, "for that safe haven. Now we commend your soul, your energy, back to the beyond from whence it came. Our Lady Freyja, bearer of souls, accept back home these Sons of War." With that, two of the Valkyries that flanked Karen stepped forward, holding aloft torches that burned strong and true in the empty, still space. It took only a touch to start an inferno beneath, within and around the bodies, flames climbing unnaturally high into the air above them and swirling majestically as it crackled. The girls stepped back, melding effortlessly back into the circle of their peers, and then the Valkyries bowed as one.

I didn't know what, exactly, I expected to happen at that moment, but the sudden gust of icy wind that whipped around the room was not it. I glanced around, looking for an open window—a foolish move in a monolith of stone and gold—but this wasn't from outside. Instead, it seemed to be originating from the centre of the room, from those two white shrouds that now fluttered with unearthly fervour.

"She just freed their essence to return to Valhalla," Gabe whispered, pointing to the left shroud just in time for me to see a gentle puff of white and silver ether pour out through the cloth, mingling with the chilled, swirling air above the flames. "They weren't manifests, but every child of the gods is blessed with a small amount of divine energy. That energy is a gift, a deposit of sorts." I frowned up at him, still not sure what he meant. "They borrow it, Trouble," he explained. "Unlike you and me, they don't get the whole god or goddess. They get a small part, which returns to that deity when they die, to be gifted to another new life." Oh!

"What happens...?" I started to ask another question but, as I spoke, the wind died away as if it had never been, and Karen spoke again. I swallowed my squeak of surprise and bit my lip.

"From one sanctuary to another. Friends, brothers..." At this, Karen's breath hitched and she choked back a sob. I watched, frozen, as she blew out a steadying breath and continued. "Darren. Joel. May this sanctuary," she gestured at the soaring walls, "be your next resting place on the great journey. We'll meet again in the halls of Valhalla." Abruptly, the place erupted with a cacophony of noise as the Valkyries began to beat at their stiff, leather breastplates and the crowd around us began to cheer and yell. I didn't take part yet, listening to Gabriel as he leant his smooth, melodious voice to the din. I didn't understand every ritual, every nuance, but it was a fitting tribute to these two men I'd sadly never met—and now, never would.

That could have been Luke, I thought. The thought felt like a knife to the gut. That could have been Luke, or Kota, or anyone I cared for. And damn it, I cared! I could barely admit how much, and certainly not out loud, but I cared. A tear pricked the corner of my eye, but I brushed it away. Again, I wouldn't cry. This wasn't the right time or place for tears. This was a joyous occasion, a celebration of freedom from pain, despite the sombre tone. I rolled my shoulders slowly, then joined in with the cheers around me. I would not allow myself to cry.

"He's not here!" I frowned, turning my gaze from the speech being given by Principal Hendricks below. The aftermath of the ceremony had been removed quickly, after the flames had died down, but that hadn't been the end of it. The man in charge had, apparently, decided to give an impromptu lecture on loyalty and honour, capitalising on the presence of the entire student body. It was interesting enough, but Victor's low hiss was more than enough to distract me from monotonously told tales of epic heroism from Roman myth.

"Who?" Gabe asked, turning with me and resting his elbows on the balustrade at his back. He leant, a move that would have almost certainly have led to my falling to my death, but he made it look effortless.

"McCoy," was Victor's low response. His breath came fast and hard, presumably from climbing the roughly hewn steps at speed. He was also clearly trying to keep his voice down, but others around us were listening intently. In a crowd of hundreds, privacy was a distant pipe dream. "He's supposed to go on after Hendricks, to announce some new security measure or whatever, but he's missing. No one's seen him in hours, and the gate security has been compromised."

"The what!?" That wasn't quiet, not even close. I glanced behind me to see that even Hendricks, and the staff clustered around him below us, had noticed North's loud growl. "Where's Kota?" He pushed off from the wall that he'd been cemented to for the past half hour, shoving past Victor as he stomped towards the spiral of stone that would take him down to the centre of the Colosseum.

"I don't know..." Victor hissed after him, but the other boy was already gone. Instead, he turned back to us. "I tried to see him. Gabe, I tried, but he's just... gone!"

"Shit!" The curse shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. I jumped, even as Gabriel clapped a hand on my shoulder, a finger grazing the exposed skin of my neck. I felt a slight twinge of pain in my temple and the stone beneath our feet began to bleed crimson in an inky swirl, but he didn't notice. He pulled me with him, down the steps after North and Victor. I glanced back, not entirely surprised to see a wide-eyed crowd of people staring, open-mouthed at the footprint-sized rainbows now marring several of the ancient flagstones. I clamped my jaw shut, biting back the warning that echoed through my mind, even as I adjusted my position so his finger slid off my skin, but it wasn't the right time. Right now, other things were more important.

"Effective immediately, all manifests are to be removed from classes." Master Blackbourne's words washed over me. I stood on the outer edge of the rapidly swelling group that circled the podium Hendricks had recently vacated. In Master McCoy's absence, the stoic vessel of Chaos had stepped up to speak. Hendricks hadn't seemed to share our concern about his colleague's absence, which was worrying in and of itself, but he also hadn't argued with the last-minute substitute.

"Report to the Training Gym by eight-hundred hours tomorrow morning," Master Blackbourne continued, levelling his cool, calculating-yet-muted gaze upon each of the boys who surrounded me, before fixing me with a keen stare. Now that I knew, the edges of his grey contact lenses barely contained the force of the onyx gaze I knew lurked beneath. Yet, for whatever reason, it no longer scared me. It was almost like the darkness was...calling to me.

"The time has come to begin the training that we have neglected for so long." I blinked as his words drew me back in, even as my mind wandered. I needed to hear this. "We are attacked, besieged in our own home. No more!" Now, his gaze lifted to address the room. A few people shuffled nervously, not meeting his eye, but I saw determination and resolve displayed there as well. These people loved this school, as I was starting to. "We will use the gifts we have been given, and we will make this school safe again. I promise."

With that, he broke off almost anti-climactically, bowing a fraction at the hips in deference to his surroundings, then turned and stepped down off the podium. Quickly, a few students hurried over and picked up the wooden structure, clearing it away, and then it was over. En mass, the entire population began to file out in silence. We joined the tail end after a few moments, the boys pressed as close together as they could without brushing my exposed skin. They were—save from Gabriel's slip-up earlier—still so careful not to touch me.

"Gabe," I whispered, continuing to step in time but not wanting to forget my thoughts. He was on my left. His eyes snapped to mine, like he'd been waiting for me to speak. I swallowed. "I don't know if you noticed, but your power was leaking earlier." He frowned, but said nothing. "Upstairs, when you touched me."

"He what?" someone—possibly Luke—exclaimed behind me, but we ignored them. Gabriel stared me down for a few moments, then nodded.

"I'll fix it," he muttered finally. He turned to leave, pushing against the flow of people swarming towards the huge columns beyond the doors. Instinctively, I reached out to grab his arm.

"Wait!" We froze. Literally ceased to move, since Luke, Nathan and North chose that moment to become living statues too.

"Don't," Nathan snapped, but the deed was done. My fingers, bare as the day I was born—the gloves I'd forgotten to put back on burning a hole in my pocket—closed around Gabriel's toned forearm. I held my breath, realising what I'd just done, and waited for the world around us to be stained an absurd colour.

Nothing happened. I continued to hold my breath, staring up at Gabe's retreating back. He shook, a tiny drop of sweat beading against the nape of his neck, just below the hairline, but I felt no jolt of pain. I'd barely felt one earlier either, I realised with fascination. Whatever was happening to us, it was... fading? I almost didn't dare to hope.

"It's getting easier, isn't it?" Gabe spoke softly, the hum of noise beyond our group fading into the background. He didn't sound surprised, merely resigned. And, if I was honest, a little nervous.

"I think so," I whispered, lifting my free hand to worry my trembling lip. "What does that mean?" As I asked, I noted that I was not the only one waiting for his answer. The sweet, wonderful boys surrounding me were focused on nothing but Gabriel's face, as he pondered his answer.

"I—I don't know."

"What's with the charade?" North asked, as soon as we were all safely ensconced back in the small living space outside Master Blackbourne's office.

"Excuse me, Mister Taylor?" The reply was curt, the barest hint of a query. A pretence of a question; an admission of guilt.

"Come on," North scoffed, missing the subtle lifting of a brow from the man folding himself slowly into the armchair opposite. "That speech about manifests was total bull!" Kota opened his mouth to speak, but North held up a finger to his brother contemptuously. "After everything that's happened, this is so obviously not about the school anymore."

"Precisely, Mr Taylor." A tiny, microscopic smile spread across the severe lines of the older man's face, even as North barrelled on with his argument.

"It has to be about her!" He stabbed his outstretched finger my way. I didn't mind the blunt address; I could see the ire in those grumpy, stress-pinched eyes, and I knew he was—in his own way—trying to defend me. "So why pull everyone out of class. It's a waste of time. We need to figure out what the hell is going on before someone gets killed." North was out of his seat now, glaring at each of his brothers in turn.

"Sit down, you big dolt." Sean rolled his eyes, pointing at the sofa with an exaggerated flick of his fingers. "We all know that. In fact, I think our illustrious leader figured it out well before the rest of us."

"You did?" North's voice cracked, suddenly revealing a vulnerability that had been masked by anger. "Oh." He let his knees buckle, almost collapsing onto me as he crumpled onto the cushion between Victor and myself. He looped an arm around the blanket slung across my shoulders, then flopped his head back like a marionette with a severed string.

"Thank you, Sean. Now, as Mr Taylor so forceful put it," Master Blackbourne continued, as if the outburst had been nothing more than a polite interjection, "this does all seem to be centred upon Sang and her guardian." I waited for him to say Nephthys, frowning at the not-rightness that coiled in my gut at that thought, but he didn't. Instead, he gave me a curt nod. I didn't know what it meant, but I was grateful for it. "We do not yet know what powers that goddess—or god—has bestowed, but I think it is about time we did." His piercing gaze swept the room. "We need to be very, very careful that we do not put Miss Sorenson in danger, so it may take some time, but we need to prepare her for what is coming."

"For what's coming?" Silas asked. He hadn't said a word since he'd met us by the entrance to the Colosseum, a detached look in his eye, but his concerned gaze landed on me now. I felt the weight of it like a brand, hot and heavy. I ducked my head to hide my face in my hair. "Do you know what it is?"

"All I know is that it has power beyond anything I've seen before," Master Blackbourne offered. He paused, cocking his head to one side for a brief moment. "Either the darkness does not know, or it chooses not to say, because my mind has fallen unusually silent."

"That can't be good," Nathan muttered, perched on the slender arm of Kota's high-backed chair. His eyes were shadowed and his expression grim. "I don't like not knowing what we're facing."

 _Death._

I blinked, as the thought flashed across my mind too quickly for me to hold onto it.

 _Death, and the end of all things. Lo, there comes a mighty wave, one unforeseen by even the mightiest of men. Beware the birds that ride the crest of the wave. The wings of crows will bring only evil, and the all-father will rise to meet the dawn._

"The fuck?" I blinked, head snapping up to find Kota crouched on the floor between my knees and a room full of eyes watching my every move.

"What?" I asked, frowning. Why was everyone staring? "Did I fall asleep? I'm sorry. I'm so tired and..."

"No," Kota whispered, the sound almost too faint to reach my ears. "You didn't. In fact, if you'd been looking up, I'd bet your eyes would have been white."

"Not again," I groaned, pulling the blanket back around me, where it had started to slip under North's heavy arm. "What ridiculous thing did I say this time?"

Kota said nothing for the longest time, glancing back at Master Blackbourne as if seeking advice. An almost imperceptible shake of the head, followed by a long sigh. I didn't know what that signal meant, but I did know it couldn't be good.

"Nothing, Sang," Kota said finally. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is protecting you. That's the only thing you need to worry about." Mumbled approval rippled around the room, although no one would meet my eye. Whatever I'd said, it had them all freaked. I needed to find out, to know, but they weren't going to tell me. I'd need to bide my time, to find the weakest link. One of them would talk, eventually. I would find out what I'd done, what I'd said, and I would do what was necessary to fix it!

"I have a thought." My head snapped up, just in time to see Gabriel step in from the long hallway beyond the doorframe. Slipping the door shut, he folded into the last available seat and leant forward, pressing his palms to his knees. "I can guess what you were talking about." A pause. I doubted it. "And I have a theory that might help. Sang, if you would?"

He held out his hand to me, sliding to the very edge of his seat. I did the same, then we both stood in unison. Stepping soundlessly into the centre of the room, Gabriel curled his socked toes into the thick shag rug beneath our feet. I watched his face, unsure of what he wanted, but then he wiggled his fingers at me. Oh! I understood. I smiled, closed my eyes and reached for his hand.

"Watch and learn, boys," Gabriel murmured, even as I felt several bodies move to stop him from taking my hand. Undeterred, he tangled his long, lean fingers with mine, gripping tight enough that it was almost painful, then stroked my skin gently with his thumb. "Do you feel anything, Sang?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" he asked, clearly implying that I'd missed something. "Go deeper. Feel with your mind." I opened my eyes to look at him, but his eyes were closed now too. "I almost missed it earlier," he continued, "but now it's unmistakable."

His free hand began to rise, fingers tracing a pattern in the air in front of him. I followed his lead, squeezing my eyes shut again and trying to let my mind go blank. Nothing. I felt nothing. I sighed internally, opening my mouth to tell him that I wasn't feeling anything—there! It was tiny, almost too small to notice, but a spark was stirring deep in my gut.

I pulled at it, hard, trying to coax it out or stir it up further. I had no idea what I was doing, in all honesty, but I had to try. It was too pure and beautiful not to. At first, nothing happened. I pulled again, but that damn spark refused to budge.

 _Don't fight it._ A voice echoed inside my head, one I'd come to know so well and, yet, not at all. I don't know how, I thought. Help me! _This cannot be brought forth through conflict, dear one. Simply give it room to grow._

How incredibly unhelpful, I thought, even as the thoughts dissipated, but for some reason I focused on the tiny spark in new light. I called out to it, breathing deep. Come to me, I told it, even as I berated myself. You're talking to a figment of your imagination, a manifestation of your inner goddess-knows-what, I reasoned, and yet, the spark slowly—agonisingly slowly—began to bloom.

A spark became a flame. A flame became a blaze. Finally, after what felt like hours, my inner self sat in the dark beside a roaring inferno as tall as a house.

"I see it." I felt Gabriel's fingers tighten even more around my own, even as I watched my flames writhe and coil in the inky blackness that surrounded me. I felt a sharp tug in the depths of my stomach, from the very heart of the blaze, as the boy beside me reminded me of his presence. His touch was tangible and beyond reach all at the same time, but my soul smiled. Finally!

"Holy fuck!" That was North... again. Similar cries of surprise fell from several pairs of lips and I finally opened my eyes again, confident that the bonfire would continue to burn without my supervision. I blinked, clearing the last remnants of my hazy, smoke-tinged vision—and came face to face with myself.

"What?" I breathed, eyes widening as I took in my own, suitably startled face, staring back at me. It was me, every inch the same me that stood and stared, but, at the same time, it wasn't. The eyes. There was something about the eyes, the depths of the gaze that showed people the very essence of who they were. "Gabe?"

"You know," my mouth said, without me speaking. "That's the first time you've called me that."

"How? That's—" It was definitely me talking this time, my hand ripping away from his in shock as I heard my voice speak words only Gabriel would say. The instant our touch faltered, arms falling to my side in stereo, a mirage rippled across my—his—skin, across the body that looked so much like mine, and the illusion shattered. In my place, Gabriel stood, almost vibrating with excitement and nervous energy.

"That was different," he said with a shrug, glancing around at his brothers with a sudden awkwardness that was jarring. They were all on their feet now, tall and imposing as their faces ran the gambit from awed to horrified. "I was expecting the power, but not the result."

"The power?" Master Blackbourne asked, stepping into my field of vision and peering at Gabe as if the secrets of the universe were hidden in the tiny smirk that graced his face. "I think all of us are at a bit of a loss as to what happened." Made a change for him, I thought wryly, then jumped as his head snapped up to meet my eye. Practically a mind reader, I reminded myself. Oops!

"Back at the temple, I touched Sang and felt something pass between us," Gabe explained. "It was so small, I barely noticed, but it forced my power to manifest, just like it did the previous time we connected."

"I remember," North said coldly, quirking a formerly-fuchsia eyebrow. Gabe's face reddened, but he ignored the unspoken threat.

"Exactly. This time, I had to change back the slabs on the balcony. I shouldn't have been able to do that, not without touching the floor with my hand, so it had to have been Sang's powers at work. I thought that this time it would be the same."

"Except that it wasn't," Kota finished. "What did you do? It looked like you created an illusion of Sang."

"I thought it was me for a second," Luke agreed. I was so focused on you two that I thought I'd made something happen without thinking."

"No." Gabriel shook his head. It wasn't an illusion. "For a few seconds, I actually felt my bones shift. Everything in me started to twist and morph. My body physically changed."

"That's not possible," Sean insisted. "Even I can't transform an entire body at will, and certainly not my own."

"I know!" Gabriel sounded irritated now, but I didn't think it was directed at Sean. He didn't know any better than the rest of us what he'd done. And that scared him!

"What were you trying to do?" Nathan asked, stepping closer as he laid a hand on Kota's shoulder.

"That's the thing. I wasn't trying to do anything." An arm was flung in my direction, narrowly avoiding a collision with my heated chest. The fire still burned within, and I wasn't sure how to stop it. "I just focused on Sang, and then poof..."

"You Single White Femaled her ass," North offered.

"Yep." For a long moment, nobody spoke. Then North's brow furrowed and he asked the question I'd been expecting since the Coliseum.

"Wait, why can you touch her now without her fainting?"

"I suspect Mr Coleman has a theory about that too," Master Blackbourne interjected. "And a fascinating one it is, I'm sure." His lips twitched. "However, the sun has just started to rise." I didn't know how he knew that, but I wasn't about to question him. "You all have work detail to get to."

A chorus of groans greeted his pronouncement, but everyone dutifully stumbled off to change for the morning detention they'd all landed in my honour. My grin turned into a grimace as Luke nearly tripped over the arm of the sofa on the way to his room, but eventually, they all made it out. Only Master Blackbourne and I remained, and he quickly beckoned me across the room and into his office.

"Quickly, Miss Sorenson, before you join my brothers." I blinked up at him, focusing on a spot just south of his left cheekbone so I wouldn't wilt under his gaze. "I wanted to apologise."

"What?" A gasp of surprise left my lungs, ripping the question out of me. Why would he feel the need to apologise? In the last twenty-four hours, I'd turned his life upside down—more than it was already—and broken his jaw. It was me who should be apologising to him.

"You're mistaken," he insisted, once again reading my emotions so clearly that I wondered how truthful he was being about his ability to read my mind. At that, a full smile curved his lips up for a single heartbeat, before the sombre scholar took over once more. "Once again, Miss Sorenson, you see far more than I give you credit for. And, once again, I have underestimated you."

"I don't understand." I didn't. I wasn't impressive in any way. I didn't even really have any powers of my own, other than saying disturbing things I couldn't remember.

"No, I suppose you don't," he said with a muted, weary sigh. "Then again, I think I may have been wrong on a great number of things since your arrival." He scrubbed a hand across his face, the gesture altogether more humanising than I'd seen from him in the short time we'd known each other. "Your goddess, for example."

"Nephthys, right?" I asked, even as my heart twisted and a jealous anger seized me from somewhere inside I couldn't place. I must have grimaced, because a gloved finger shot out and pressed gently against my forehead, smoothing out the wrinkle that had formed there.

"You know that's not true," he whispered, taking a small step toward me. "For one, Nephthys has never exhibited a proclivity towards prophecy." As I stood, unable to move under the weight of his calculating gaze, the other fingers of his right hand joined the one tracing the curve of my face, until he gently cupped my jaw. His fingers were soft and their caress gentle but firm, as they prevented me from looking away. "I was entirely wrong about you, and what you mean to us. For that, I can only apologise."

"Don't," I said quickly, barely above a whisper. His fingers fell to his side and I took a quick step backwards, away from the presence that was threatening to overwhelm me. I need to go, to be somewhere else. I wasn't afraid of him—how could I be, now that I saw the pain he held so close to his soul—but it was just too much. He was too much. He would burn me up!

"I couldn't if I tried," he said softly, as I turned to reach for the handle of the door. "Even in the darkness, you shine like a supernova. You don't see it yet, but your soul is utterly blinding."

"I'm nothing special!" I insisted, my tone begging him to change his mind. There was no way he could know about the fire inside me, that strange, other part of me I had somehow allowed to burst forth and break free, as I held Gabriel's hand. It still burned in me, which scared me more than I could admit.

Not the fact that it burned; that was as natural as breathing.

What scared me was that I could feel it pulling at me, begging to be unleashed. Whatever was inside me wanted to be free, and I didn't know how to stop it.

"I'm nothing," I repeated, wrenching open the door and practically running through it.

I heard the soft, cool voice of Master Owen Blackbourne wash over me one last time, a shiver unfurling down my spine before the door slammed shut behind me. "Then why are you glowing, Sang?"


	17. Chapter 17: Into the Dark

"What did Master B want to talk to you about?"

I tugged my borrowed jacket—a blue one of Gabriel's, since he'd been the first to offer—tighter around my chest as I walked and dug my face into the soft material, before turning to look at Kota. His expression was guarded, carefully neutral in the way only a soldier could be, but his slightly pinched brows gave away his curiosity. He wasn't going to beg me for details. He was too well trained for that, but I could tell he wanted the truth from me.

"Nothing much," I told him. I had no reason to lie, but there were several aspects of our conversation that I still wanted to keep to myself. "He just wanted to tell me that he found some new information about my patron."

All that business about shining, glowing and darkness, for example, felt too fresh to share. I still didn't know what to make of most of what Master Blackbourne had told me—frankly, my feelings around the man were confused enough right now—but I didn't want to talk about it with the boys just yet. Not even the strong, stoic Kota Lee.

I tucked my chin into my collarbone, scanning my body surreptitiously as we passed beneath the towering columns that lined the walkway snaking out from the centre of campus. I couldn't see anything, but then again, I didn't expect to. I was starting to think I was losing it. People just didn't glow!

"Nothing else?" Kota asked, stepping closer to me and wrapping a casual arm around my shoulders. It was a cool morning, accompanied by a gentle breeze, and the sun hadn't yet cleared the tallest of the buildings on either side of us. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, even through the thin fleece that shielded my skin, and I was grateful for the small amount of warmth. Even at our brisk pace, I just couldn't seem to stave off the cold. My new inner fire, bright as it might have been with Gabriel back at their building, was apparently no match for the elements.

"Not really," I hedged evasively. I really didn't want to lie, but this boy was altogether too perceptive.

"Not even about McCoy?" I jumped, almost dislodging Kota's arm, as Gabriel practically skipped into eye line. His bright, live-wire smile was far too exuberant for the early hour, but his energy never failed to make me smile.

"What about him?" Silas asked, comfortably filling the remaining space between Kota and the wall. I shifted to give him my full attention but, as I turned, I caught the change in Gabriel's now strained expression.

"What's wrong, Gabe?" Kota asked. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to interpret the subtle signs of distress from his brother.

"What are you doing, Trouble?" I frowned. I wasn't doing anything. "You did it before," he continued, "in the sanctuary, but I didn't think anything of it then."

"Did what?" Silas asked the question before I could speak. It didn't matter. I'd been about to ask the same thing.

"That!" He slid around Kota, who dropped his arm and stepped back to give us space. Lifting a hand, he pointed at my face. No, not at my face, I realised. At a spot just below my right ear, towards the edge of my hairline...

I froze, understanding dawning even as confusion threatened to sweep it away. Slowly, I pulled my fingers away from my skin, where I had been scratching absently, and tucked my hand under Gabriel's jacket, out of sight of judgemental eyes.

"What?" I mumbled, cringing away from the shaky finger still pointed my way. "I was just scratching. Everybody scratches."

"Exactly, brother," Silas interjected. "Everybody scratches. Everybody farts too, although not many smell as bad as yours, I'd bet." He grinned, glancing down to let me know that he'd spoken to divert the attention from me, and Kota let out a bark of tense laughter. My lips twitched, but Gabriel's pained expression gave me pause. His logical leap sounded ludicrous, but he seemed dead set on it. Maybe it wasn't so crazy after all? After all, my whole world revolved around crazy.

I pondered that thought for the remainder of our walk up to the old library. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, try as I might, so I was grateful when the large, low building loomed into view. It was too early in the morning for the work I anticipated I'd be required to do, and I hadn't slept in what felt like forever, but I'd welcome the distraction from the mixed-up nightmare that was my mind.

"Ready, ladies?" North grumbled, as we came to a halt next to a familiar crowd of people. "This could get ugly." Celeste and Diana stood by the entrance, next to Jade and some of the other students that had been in detention with us the previous morning. Some of them smiled, but there was a definite tension in the air.

"Morning!" Diana—ever the more light-hearted—stepped away from her twin, hurrying over to greet us with a grin. Her hair was swept over her shoulder in golden waves, making her look every bit the effortlessly gorgeous morning-person that she probably was. She ignored a disgruntled huff from her sister and moved closer. "How are we all feeling?"

"Fine," North answered eventually, looking up at her begrudgingly. She gave him no choice, standing like a statue and peering down at him until he faced her, but his frown betrayed him. He was... nervous? What could he have to be nervous about? He hadn't done anything yesterday, had he?

"Oh." The sound left me like a whispered prayer, as I looked up to meet the eyes of the not-so-friendly twin, over Diana's shoulder.

"Oh, indeed," Celeste snapped, glaring daggers into my forehead, before doing the same to the tall, dark and moody earthquake-bringer beside me. "Mr Taylor, your behaviour yesterday was irresponsible, reckless and stupid. You could have brought down the entire building, not to mention the dormitories nearby."

"But it wasn't..." I started, but Victor's hand clamped down on my shoulder tightly, urging me to stop talking. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't North's fault, that Jade's accident had pushed him over the edge, but I didn't. Instead, I bit my tongue.

"Come on, sister," Diana said softly, turning to try and placate her irate twin, but the other Daughter of Aphrodite was not finished.

"Don't!" she hissed, rounding on North again. She stalked forward, eyes glinting in the morning sunlight, and North actually had the good sense to look worried. I didn't blame him. Tall, stunning and slender, she might be, but I'd wager that she'd crush most people in a straight fight. "What do you have to say for yourself, boy?"

Nobody spoke for a long moment, then North sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Damn right," the harpy—the one who wasn't Jade, I mean—said quickly. She pointed up at the open doorway, which, now that I looked, hung slightly off-centre, and snarled. "Now, sadly I'm not allowed to give you work detail for the whole school year. Something about not bullying little children," she scoffed, addressing the rest of us with a sweeping gaze. "However, you and your friends will not sleep until you have finished your assignments _and_ repaired the damage that Mr Taylor caused with his little stunt."

She coughed then, breathing heavily, and Diana laid a supportive hand on her back. At her touch, Celeste pulled herself up ramrod straight and fixed her calculating gaze on me. I swallowed, but stayed quiet, hoping she would move on soon. She scared me.

"Do I make myself clear?" she asked finally, each word clipped and harsh. I jumped slightly, and only Victor's hand on my arm stopped me from taking a step back. I nodded, and saw out of the corner of my eye that the others all did the same.

"Fantastic," Diana interjected, before her sister could speak again. "In that case, let's get going, so you can all make it to your first class."

With that, she and Celeste turned their attention to the group at large, pairing people off and assigning them jobs and equipment. North, Silas and Luke were sent in first, armed with sledge hammers and wheelbarrows, to start clearing out the rubble that North had brought down in the room with the little stage.

The room where Jade had died, I reminded myself soberly. For her part, despite the lingering glances she sent North's way when he wasn't looking, she looked relieved not to be going back there. She and several others were assigned the opposite side of the building, painting walls that had not sustained damage in the mini quake.

"Sang Sorenson," Diana said finally. My head shot up at the sound of my name. I was stood between Nathan and Victor now, and a quick glance around told us that we were the only ones left.

"Yes?" I mumbled, when the pregnant pause told me that she was waiting for an answer. Still nothing. "Yes, ma'am," I offered, and Celeste sighed, rolling her eyes as she took a step towards me and got far too up close and personal.

"Is our conversation _boring_ you?" she asked, the sarcasm dripping from every word. "Apologies for dragging you out of bed this early, princess." She paused for effect, the gleam in her eye unmistakably malevolent. "Or should I just call you Nephthys now?"

I stiffened, my expression momentarily betraying my shock before I clamped down on the flicker of fear that crossed my face. How did she know? Nobody knew. Nobody, save for the nine selfless men that had offered to put their lives on hold for me; to look after me and to make me one of their own. I didn't think for a second one of them would tell, and certainly not Celeste, but someone had.

"What did you just say?" Victor asked, his words ground out through clenched teeth.

"You heard me," came the response. "You think you're this precious snowflake because these oh-so-special manifests think you're one of them?" She sounded so arrogant and carefree that it made my skin crawl. What could this woman possibly have to gain from goading me; antagonising me?

"Let's go, Sang," Nathan urged, stepping closer to Victor and me. A hand on the small of my back—whose hand, I wasn't sure—started to guide me towards the doorway to the library, but I turned back to see Diana and Celeste watching us go.

"Ignore her," Victor told me. We moved further away from the path, away from those two people who could not be more different, even though they were genetically identical, but I could still hear parts of their muted conversation.

"A bit strong, don't you think, sister?" Diana muttered. She had one hand on Celeste's arm and the other was flung across the other woman's chest, like she was trying to stop Celeste from following us. The irate woman in question was glaring daggers at me, but there was something else in her gaze that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. There was hatred, pure, unadulterated contempt written plain across her flawless features.

I shuddered, averting my eyes. I didn't even know this woman, had no clue why she hated me and my friends, but something wasn't right. Something was, in fact, very wrong with this picture. And, this time, I was determined not to just ignore my suspicions.

An hour later, despite whispered discussions when we were sure that we weren't being spied upon, Nathan, Victor and I were no closer to solving the mystery. We all agreed that Celeste's outburst was strange, in the extreme, and that, if we were assembling a list of suspects for the events of the past few days, she was now the prime candidate. What we didn't yet have an answer for was why, though not for lack of trying.

"Sang, these are ready to go."

"Huh?" I blinked, Victor's voice pulling me from my thoughts. Instinctively, my fingers curled around the handle of the cart at my feet, and awareness slammed back into me. My head throbbed, eyes raw and prickly with exhaustion, but I ignored it and focused on the blurry faces in front of me. "Sorry, I'm going."

"Wait!" As I started to lift the wheelbarrow, piled high with the cavity wall fragments the boys had been hauling out from various rooms along this hallway, a gloved hand landed on my own, pushing the two metal feet back down to the carpet. "Are you okay?" That was Nathan. His voice was soft, concerned, but firm. I nodded, hoping I looked convincing. My strength was nearly depleted, due mostly to the fact that I couldn't recall the last time I slept, but I didn't want to let them down. I could do my part, shifting the debris out to the garbage corral in the back courtyard.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." That was Victor. At least, I thought it was. I couldn't actually make out his face, even when I blinked. It was just a vague beige blob, but the voice was familiar and... safe.

"I'm fine!" I repeated, smiling. I thought that my words might have been slightly slurred, but I ploughed on regardless. "I'll take out this cart, then I'll take a break."

"Are you sure?" Nathan—or was it Victor? —didn't sound sure, but they let me go, after seeking assurances that I would, in fact, eventually take the agreed break. That sounded like a plan to me. I was practically dead on my feet, but I'd finish my job first.

The rear courtyard was quiet as I pushed my cart through the open door and into the pale sunshine. A few trips ago, I'd lingered to watch the majestic rise of the celestial body to its peak, the peaceful bench beside the door offering an unbroken view that had been too tempting to resist. This time, however, I hurried over to the green, gated storage area and dumped my heavy load into the low receptacle labelled for building site waste.

Feeling somewhat refreshed by the breeze outside, but still not keen to linger, I manoeuvred the newly unburdened wheelbarrow with relative ease, and headed back. I cracked a small smile and enjoyed the sunlight on my skin, looking forward to the chair that awaited me back in Victor's current work room. As soon as I sat down, everything would be okay. We'd get done, go and meet up with the others and figure out this Celeste business—together.

"Hey, bitch."

I froze, panic rising in my chest for a single moment before the voice registered in my ears. It was not the light, icy tone of the psychotic twin that filled me with dread. No, this voice, whilst equally unwelcome, was lower; younger.

"Jade," I said with a sigh. "What do you want?"

"Want?" She stepped out from behind one of the taller containers in the corral, exiting the same way I had. It worried me for a second that she had been there the whole time, without me knowing it, but I brushed it aside. If she was going for stealthy, she'd failed miserably, so I figured that wasn't what she had in mind. A conversation, then? I could handle that. Right?

"Yes, Jade," I repeated, rolling my eyes. "What do you _want_?"

"Oh, nothing." Yeah. Nothing, my ass—was what I didn't say.

"Great." I continued heading towards the building, trying to make it seem like her presence wasn't bothering me. Once I got back to the others, I'd be fine. "If you'll excuse me, I'll just be going."

"Back to your friends?" She circled around quickly, positioning herself between me and my escape route. She sneered, lip curling nastily.

"As a matter of fact, yes, Jade," I agreed, trying to sound casual. No need to let on how nervous she made me. I wheeled my cart right up to her, until I'd have to push her over to take another step. I'd been hoping she'd move to the side, but she stood her ground. Fabulous! "Excuse me."

"Now, now. What's the hurry?" She grinned wolfishly. "I'm just talking. Making conversation."

"I'm busy," I insisted, backing up and trying to go around her. She took another step, to the side this time, blocking my way again. Now I was done with this. My mouth set in a harsh line and I returned her glare. "Get out of my way."

She didn't like that, because her cheeks flared pink and her hands snapped out, grasping my cart at each of the corners. "Now then, you whore. You're not going anywhere; not until you tell me what you did to spell my boys."

"Your boys?" The words slipped out unbidden, my resolve and evasion forgotten as my mouth dropped open.

"Yes," she hissed. "North is mine." I didn't even try to tell her how little sense her argument made, because she was still talking. "Oh, you can't possibly think that those boys are really yours, can you? Even you're not that stupid."

"They're not... I mean, I'm not..." I sputtered, trying to explain. I didn't want to keep encouraging her, fuelling her vitriol, but I needed to say something to defend myself. To defend my relationships.

"No, you certainly aren't. Not in your wildest dreams are you woman enough to catch their attention on your own. Who's helping you? What did you do to him?!" She was shrieking now, gripping the basin with enough strength to cause the metal to buckle and bend.

Suddenly, I was reminded that the shrill girl that stood within spitting distance was a real life Amazonian warrior, and probably wouldn't break a sweat as she ripped me in half. I gulped. The sound must have been louder than I thought, because her eyes snapped up to mine again, and she looked positively feral.

"Uh, I'm just going to go, okay?" I abandoned the cart, tucking my arms around me as I edged away from her. I didn't know what was in the air today, making first Celeste and now Jade act crazy—or crazier than normal—but it wasn't anything good. If I could get around her, I could run. Nathan would be here in a heartbeat if I called. If he heard.

"You've clearly cast some kind of spell, you little... you witch." Undeterred by my obvious denial, Jade continued. "I'm not going to let you ruin everything! He's mine!" I edged towards the open doorway, one step at a time. So close!

Before I had a chance to duck, she bent at the waist, lifting the empty metal cart and tossing it away like it weighed nothing. It tumbled through the air, just inches above my head, and then landed with the sickening screech and groan of alloy against concrete. One second, we were separated by a solid object and a good few feet, and the next, I was up against the coarse bricks, a vice-like fist curled around my throat. My feet dangled precariously, my hands scrabbling for purchase against the wall at my back, and a piercing ache emanated from the spot where my head and the brick had made contact.

"Jade, what are you doing?" I screamed, kicking out with all the strength I could muster. I had nothing to anchor my weight, scant as it was, so I barely grazed her thigh. She blinked, tilting her head to one side, and then it was no longer flat brown staring back at me. Her irises were now the deep red as fresh blood, bleeding into the whites of her eyes like she was haemorrhaging before my gaze. "Oh God!"

"Don't fight this, bitch," she growled, but her words barely registered. Instead, my focus was on something—someone—else. There was another voice, hidden and faint but unmistakable; a deep, unfathomably ancient timbre that echoed her own. "I'm going to kill you, right here, and no one is going to stop me. Better still, you're going to beg me for it, before I'm done."

I ignored her, listening to the voice beneath. It wasn't an echo, I realised. It wasn't that simple. In fact, it was as though her voice was the echo. Somehow, someone was speaking through her, as if she was being possessed.

It would explain the eyes, I thought wryly, as she lifted me off the wall and promptly slammed me back into position again. The air left my lungs. Holy...! Ouch!

"Focus," she snapped—it snapped.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know why I was engaging, especially if I was right in my suspicions, but I needed to buy me some time. Now would be a great time for my mysterious patron to turn up, I thought into the air around my throbbing head, but I wouldn't hold out much hope.

"I'm going to kill you," they said slowly, glimpses of crimson and ruby coming closer, like they were searching my gaze for something. Fear? Pain? Whatever it was, I couldn't give it to them. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to focus. I was alone, and I didn't think the boys would be close enough to hear me if I screamed. Whoever this girl was in this moment, I didn't make the mistake of thinking they were stupid. They'd gotten me alone—a fact that was as foolish as it was avoidable—and they weren't in a hurry to end me.

"You said that already," I wheezed, deciding on sass as my best form of defence. If I was going to die, I'd do my best to irritate them to death right alongside me.

"Disrespectful fool." As they spoke, I wracked my brain for ideas. If the boys were in my position, they would be able to free themselves with ease, using their gifts, but I didn't have a gift. I was powerless.

Or was I?

It was a long shot, I knew that. I didn't know what my powers did, if anything, but I had to try something. What had I done earlier, with Gabriel. I'd influenced his powers, or I thought I had. I'd been sitting by my fire, my inner sanctuary, and something had happened that I couldn't explain. Now, the only question was, could I do it again?

"This is too easy..."

I tuned out the dual voices, allowing my body to relax and go limp in Jade's grip. If I was correct, I suspected that monologuing was a big part of this attacker's modus operandi, so I was willing to take a chance that my noncompliance would delay my death. At least, that was the idea. I just hoped that it would buy me enough time to... well, to do whatever it was I was about to do.

I closed my eyes, praying that my subconscious would know where I wanted to go. My world went blank for a few long, agonising moments and then, just when I was about to lose my nerve, I felt a gentle warm caress against my cheek. Suddenly, the darkness flared with light, and I found myself standing beside a roaring furnace. It wasn't exactly the same as last time, the setting was more like a large basement than a fire pit, but those flames were unmistakable. This was my centre. I'd found it.

What now, I thought to myself, as I stared into the writhing heart of the fire? It was all well and good finding this place again, and I'd give myself a congratulatory pat on the back later if I survived, but I was still no closer to a solution. I could feel, with a strange sort of detachment, that I was slowly running out of air in my lungs, and I knew that time was running out.

Maybe I should just let them kill me.

I didn't know what part of me the thought came from, but the suggestion swirled around my furnace like a sudden, violent gust of putrid wind, damping down the flames a little. It made me want to throw up, both in here and out there, but I didn't immediately push it away. It had a point.

 _Chickenshit!_

The flames lashed out at me, sweeping across my chest and face before I could dodge them. It didn't hurt—on the contrary, it felt like home—but I got the message loud and clear. My patron wasn't the only one rebuking me for that one.

"What do I do then?" I asked. I might have spoken in real life too, but I wasn't worried about that right now. If I didn't focus, I'd be dead soon anyway. "Help me!"

 _You need only will it to act._

Okay then. I wasn't going to ask twice.

"Thank you!" I shouted into the darkness. I knew that I'd forget this conversation in seconds, but I wanted to make sure that I expressed my gratitude. She'd helped me numerous times, times I couldn't remember, and I owed her my life a few times too.

Let's hope I can add one more to that tally, I thought, turning my attention back to the flames that burned beside me. Giving them my undivided attention, even though I suddenly couldn't seem to remember why, I allowed the flickering, undulating patterns to infuse my innermost being. Reaching for them, they responded instantly, curling up to meet my fingers and creep up my forearms.

Go, I thought. Save me!

Please, save me.

I gasped, blinking back tears and sweat as they threatened to blind me. My fingers were pressed flat to something solid, my face altogether too hot as it pressed into the rough grit and dirt that was just beginning to warm in the sun. With some effort, I pushed up from my prostrate position, curling my legs under my body as I tried to reconcile my mind to my surroundings. As I moved, dragging myself backwards on my backside and hands, I jumped as my back came into contact with something solid. I recoiled, only to find myself face to face with brick and mortar. The old library building.

"What?" I breathed, grimacing in pain as the events of the past few minutes flooded my mind. What had happened? I didn't think I'd passed out—I could remember all too well the impact of face to ground—but I'd been immobilised. A hand had been choking the life out of me. Jade's hand but, at the same time, not Jade's hand. Why wasn't I dead?

"What the actual fuck?" I jumped again, eyes flying open at the horrifying sound, followed by a groan of discomfort and pain. It took me a few seconds to find her but, when I did, my eyes widened in surprise. Jade lay flat on her back, arms outstretched, like a rag doll crash dummy that had been flung from a fast-moving car. More disturbing still was where she lay, over twenty feet away. Beyond her, the metal wall of the corral was dented almost in half, as if struck by something solid at speed. Probably my doing, although I had no clue how.

"I asked you a question," Jade said coldly, pushing herself to her feet with one smooth, fluid movement. If not for the wince, the slightest pinching of skin around her—mercifully—brown eyes, I would have thought she was unfazed by the incident.

"I don't know," I mumbled, using the wall to hoist myself upright. I would not take it lying down if she came at me again. "You..." Think of something believable, I thought frantically. "You fell. Yeah, you tripped into the fence and you fell."

"Whatever." Jade flashed me a scowl, her dark eyes suspicious and guarded, but she made no move to come towards me. Instead, she hurried into the building and took an immediate left, the way I'd come with my cart before. I held my breath for a few seconds, willing her to keep walking, and then that air escaped me in a long, shaky gust.

She was gone.

I was alone.

It took me a while to recover, once I was certain that Jade wasn't coming back. I held the wall and, in its own way, the wall held me. I breathed deep, coaxing blood and oxygen to my extremities. I was still shaking—near death will do that to a person—but, physically, I felt fine. I had wiped a few drops of blood from my hair, from where I'd been choke slammed into a wall, but it would heal. For now, I just needed to find my way back to Nathan and Victor, and quickly.

"Not that way," I muttered to myself, eyeing the left-most path, the one that I'd come via. Jade had gone that way and, as convinced as I was that her brown eyes meant the madness—or possession—had been disrupted, I wasn't going to follow her. That left only the right fork. I didn't know where it led, but this wing of the building wasn't huge. I'd just walk until I found them, or someone else.

Someone who wasn't Celeste! Or Jade!

Plan set, I retrieved my cart and staggered to the entryway. I wasn't going anywhere fast but, with the cart to support my weight, I'd make it back to my friends. I had to! No way was I going to be alone any longer than necessary.

Taking a right, I wound my way slowly through the empty corridors and hallways. Every few steps, I would open a door or peer into an open room, looking for signs of life. Nothing so far. I yawned, recent events compounding my exhaustion, but forced myself to put one foot in front of the next.

Ten minutes—or maybe six hours—later, I concluded that I was lost. Through no conscious fault of my own, I'd taken several other right turns, and I suspected that I was now far from where I needed to be. Taking a left, finally, I paused, frowning as I realised that this hallway looked familiar. They all had similar, bland wallpapers and furnishings, but, if I wasn't mistaken, I'd traversed this one before.

Grinning, I hurried forward, feet flying as I pushed the cart along faster. I took another left, confronting another familiar pastel shade and then another. It wouldn't be long until I found my friends or one of the other students, and then I could get some rest. It wouldn't take long now...

The cart was jerked out of my hands, tumbling away into nothingness. I didn't even have time to scream before I pitched forward, the rough, gaping maw of wood framed inky blackness looming up to meet me, and then I was falling.


	18. Chapter 18: The Axis Tilts

My body tried to scream, to expel all the air in my lungs in a single, terrified gasp, but all that came out was a pitiful squeak. All too quickly, between one heartbeat and the next, the darkness cleared and the ground loomed up to meet me. I barely had time to slam my eyelids shut and clench my jaw, bracing for impact as best I could, before I felt every vertebra in my back crunch and ripple into one other as I hit the ground. At that, I finally let out a yell, a deep, reverberating groan that came from somewhere far deeper than my throat.

Was I dead? Dying? I couldn't feel any pain, beyond the inevitable tension that I knew would come from having my footing jerked from under me unexpectedly. My neck felt tender, but not broken or bruised, like I would have expected from having fallen a good few feet onto my back. Had something broken my fall?

Blinking carefully, I found myself staring up at a neat, square hole in the ceiling above my head. The surrounding structure was concrete, thick and damp-looking, but someone—at some point—had excavated a neat shaft down through the floor above, lined it with wood and fitted it with a carpet-lined, drop-away door. The same carpet as the hallway above me, I suspected, examining it with a squint. Presumably, it was not meant to have been left open.

With a groan, as my spine realigned itself inch by aching inch, I pushed off the ground, feeling the gentle give of something less than solid beneath my bare arms. The chilled air that brushed over my skin, swirling in from somewhere far beyond the darkness, raised every tiny hair on my exposed flesh, making me hyper-aware of the coarse texture of the material. A few seconds later, after a quick scrabble around in the dim gloom, I concluded that it was sack-cloth of some kind, wrapped around something bulky and surprisingly soft. Whatever it was had undoubtedly broken my fall—and quite possibly saved my life.

"You've really done it now, Sang," I muttered, stretching out my arms gently to try to encourage the stiffness and aching to dispel. I knew that I was beyond fortunate to not be seriously hurt, or worse, but it still stung to fall—what was that? I glanced up again, counting quickly in my head—at least ten feet into a basement that had probably been forgotten or abandoned. A cursory glance around revealed nothing of note, save for the pile of conveniently positioned sacks below the open hatch, but the room was dark enough that I wasn't confident that it would stay that way.

I wasn't about to go searching in the dark on my own, I thought with a shudder. I'd never actually seen a horror movie, but I wasn't stupid. I knew that the girl who went off into the dark basement on her own was always the first one to die. No, I needed to find some way up and out.

"Hello!" I called, gazing up at the small square of light above me. I even stretched up to my full height, right onto the tips of my toes, as if that would help my voice be heard. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

I paused, listening intently as I strained to hear any sound other than the soft breeze sweeping around the room and my own shallow breathing. Nothing. I sighed, sinking down onto the sack closest to me. What now? I could try to find my way through the darkness, to maybe find a ladder or a way out of here, but I'd be throwing myself into the unknown without anyone knowing where I'd gone. There could be other holes, other traps and hazards that really would get me killed. I could get lost down here and no one would ever know.

Wouldn't that be one for the history books, I told myself wryly. The first emergency of the mythical, magical 'tenth manifest' in goodness-knows-how-long, and I die tripping over in a basement. No. I'd try shouting for a while longer, before I did anything rash or reckless.

"Help!" I gave it my best, shouting at the top of my lungs. I honestly didn't expect anyone to hear me, my spirit sinking even as I spoke, but then I heard a door slam above me and my heart started to thunder in my chest. Someone was up there! Were they looking for me? I'd take anyone right now—well, maybe not creepy, possessed Jade, but anyone else—if they could get me out.

"Hello," I called again, voice cracking and throat burning as I pushed my vocal cords to their limit. I didn't have much power, not after some of the more sadistic things my step-mother had done before she died, but I willed it to be enough. They just needed to hear me once. "Help! I'm here!"

"I heard her." My breath hitched and tears started to fall freely as I recognised a familiar baritone hum. It was Victor, and he wasn't alone. "Just for a second, but I heard her. Sang?"

"I'm here," I called, tears filling my vision. I raised my arms towards the hole, as if Victor could somehow reach down two stories and scoop me up.

"You heard that too, right?" Victor's voice was getting closer. I imagined that I could hear his footsteps too, pounding ever closer, but through the thick concrete I knew that was wishful thinking.

"I did." Nathan. I grinned, arms still raised in anticipation as the second voice floated down to me. They had to be just next to the hole now.

My eyes widened, panic flooding through me as I realised that they had no way to know that the hole was there. They could easily fall through it, as I had, and their landing might be a lot more dangerous than mine.

"Stop!" I screamed hoarsely. "Don't move."

"Sang?" Victor sounded confused. "Where are you?"

"Don't move," I urged, coughing back bile as it attempted to bite at my words. "I don't want you to fall."

"Fall?" Nathan sounded equally confused. "Fall where? I can hear you, but you're not here. Where are you?"

"There's a hole," I told them, circling the sack pile as I peered up. I couldn't tell what direction they were coming from, but I could see a few inches of hallway in all directions, so I'd have some warning of a new arrival before they fell. "It's a trap door of some kind, in the middle of the floor in the hallway. I fell in and I'm stuck."

Everything went silent for a few seconds, then a head popped into view, framed by the neat wooden panelling. Victor was upside down—for me at least—but he could have been on the wall of a portrait gallery, lit from behind like he was. The longer strands of hair hung down around his forehead, hiding his eyes in shadow but casting a halo of filtered light across his cheeks and jaw. He was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen, in that moment, and I beamed, wiping back tears of relief.

"Found her," he said breathlessly, gazing down at my upturned face. A few more seconds passed, and then Nathan's face was thrust into frame, upper body hanging precariously out into empty space.

"Careful," I murmured, eyeing his position warily. I moved closer to the nearest sack, ready to try and break his fall, but he grinned.

"I'm fine, Peanut." I frowned and he must have caught the concern in my face, because he disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared with just his face, hands and shoulders visible. "Happy?" I nodded. He grinned again, all teeth and gums, but sobered up quickly as he stared down at me.

"Are you alright?" he asked sombrely, glancing at Victor and then back at me. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I insisted, but neither boy looked convinced. In honesty, I could understand why and tried to reassure them. "I'm okay, really. There's a ton of these bags down here—" I held one up, surprised at how light they were for their size. "—and they broke my fall."

"Are you sure?" Nathan was still frowning, peering at the lumpy material in my outstretched hand, but Victor was scanning the area around me, dark as it was. Looking for a way out, I thought. Or maybe a way up? Either way, if anyone could figure it out, I knew my boys would. I didn't think there was anything they couldn't do, if they put their minds to it.

"I'm sure, Honey," I said softly, deliberately using the nickname that he'd liked so much. I didn't know why he was so taken with it, but I'd use it if it made him happy, just like his pet name for me made me happier than I cared to admit. "I don't know how to get out though."

"We'll get you out!" he insisted, turning to Victor. "Can I jump that?"

"What?" I exclaimed. There was no way. He'd break his neck, super speed or not. "You can't possibly…"

"No." Victor's words left no room for equivocation. It was absolute. Nathan couldn't do it and, going on the look on his face, he didn't look happy about that fact.

"But what if…?" Nathan began, but Victor cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"You can't do it. You can't do it, because it has to be me."

"What?!" This time, Nathan and I spoke in unison, our voices merging to echo through the space beneath and around us. "What does that mean?" That was Nathan, voice incredulous and irritated. "Why you?"

"Because you are faster than me," was the reply. Nathan looked ready to punch the concrete apart with his bare hands, so Victor sighed and explained. "Neither of us can fly, so whoever goes down will be stuck there just like Sang."

"I'm fine down here," I told them, even as my heart squeezed and my eyes stung at the thought of being left behind. Just because they'd found me once, it didn't mean they would be able to do it again, and the building was so big that it might take hours to search for the hole—safely—again. No, I'd be brave if I had to be, but I didn't want to be alone down here.

"No, you're not, Sang," Nathan insisted, hair swinging wildly as he shimmied closer to the edge and shook his head firmly. Only a hand on his shoulder and Victor's disapproving frown made him pause, looking up at his brother. "What?"

"You're not listening to me," the other boy said quickly. "I told you that it has to be me. Whoever is down there can't run for help, and you're faster. You can find North, or Si—hell, or even a rope, if you find one—and bring back help."

Nathan froze for a few moments, brows furrowed and pupils darting from side to side like he was deep in thought, trying to piece together an alternative plan. Then he sighed, huffing out a shallow breath and heaving himself up with fingers pressed against the wooden panelling that lined the hatch. "Fine," he muttered, before his face disappeared. "I'll be back before you know it." Then he was gone, the tips of his work boots disappearing from view.

"What now?" I asked, peering up at Victor, who hadn't moved a muscle. I hoped that he'd stay in this corridor, even if he had to move out of sight to help the incoming rescuers, but he surprised me by twisting around so that his feet dangled into the darkness towards me. "What are you…?" I didn't have time to finish the sentence before he pushed off from the edge, leaping into the darkness.

Startled, I stumbled backwards to give him space to land on the sacks below, but his trajectory took him past them, a dull thud echoing through the space as he touched down, rolled and recovered to a standing position before my mouth was fully hanging open.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rushing over to his side. Déjà vu hit me, as I remembered the identical words spoken to me just minutes before, but I brushed it aside. There was no way that he hadn't twisted an ankle, or… something! Damn. I needed him to teach me to do that.

"I'm fine, Sang," he insisted, turning on his heel to face me. He reached out to grasp my arm, to reassure me that he was okay, but then he thought better of it. I paused, resisting the urge to step closer like I wanted to. Gabriel and I had somehow acclimatised to each other, but I had no such assurances about what would happen if I touched Victor. I knew his gifts worked differently and, while I hadn't fainted or destroyed my surroundings with all of my interactions, I had no way of knowing what might happen if I got too close.

"I'm not going to run, if you want to stand by me," he said finally, breaking the silence. I looked down self-consciously, realising that I had frozen in mid-stride, and relaxed, bringing my feet back together and hugging my arms to my sides. He must have mistaken my awkward hesitation for worry, because he rushed on. "I'll be careful not to touch you!"

"That's okay." I flashed him a small smile. "I trust you." He grinned, and I felt my confidence seeping back in a little. "Besides, it's not like there's any cell phones in here we can fry, right?"

He laughed, fishing his own phone out of his pocket and waving it at me. I rolled me eyes, grinning at his actions, and shrugged. "Okay, so it won't cause an earthquake."

"No," he admitted, smile fading, "but it might cause you to see things that you don't want to see." His shoulders slumped and he stepped away from me, into the gloom. I followed, not wanting to lose sight of him or to make him think I wasn't listening but, when I caught up, his back was to me.

"What does that mean?" I asked, carefully placing my hand on top of his t-shirt covered forearm. The material was damp from perspiration, but I didn't care. I stayed absolutely still, conscious that a sudden movement could expose his bare skin to my own, but I needed the physical contact any way I could get it. I needed him to know—to feel—that I was there for him, when the shadows that dimmed my eyesight made it hard to communicate my emotions by sight.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered. He moved to pull away from me, then thought better of it and slumped even further. "Just forget I said anything, Sang."

"You can tell me anything." My words were soft, barely a whisper in the dark. I didn't expect him to answer, but then the fabric shifted under my fingers and he turned to face me. Carefully, so carefully I thought I might break, he placed one, shaking hand on each of my shoulders and pulled me close. I tucked my arms in close, afraid to move for risk of making things even more precarious.

"I see things, Sang." I held my breath, not wanting to interrupt. I couldn't see his face clearly, so I just stared up in the direction I hoped his eyes were. "I see things I can't forget; faces, places, whole lives touched by evil and pain." I wanted to ask questions, to understand, but I couldn't bring myself to stop him. If I did, he wouldn't open up again. I didn't know how, but I knew that to be unequivocally true.

"I know that some of my brothers have gifts that are more impressive, or more dangerous than mine," he continued, choosing his words carefully, methodically. "And I know that my visions are nothing special. I can't even choose what I see most of the time, but it's never good. Never happy. Not until…" He broke off, shaking his head. "Never mind. What I mean is, your touch did something to Gabe's powers, changed them or enhanced them or something. If that happens with me, I'm not going to move mountains, but I'm worried about what you might see."

"Me?" I couldn't help it. He wasn't making sense.

"Yes, you." I felt him move, then his face came into view. It faded into blackness at the edges, but his eyes were warm and full of concern. "I've shared visions with Kota before. It took some effort, but he saw what I saw." He frowned, darkness swallowing up his hairline as he shifted. "I have very little control around you, Sang. None of us do. I'm worried that, if you touch me, you'll see something that you won't be able to live with."

"I'm not afraid." It was true. And it wasn't. I wasn't scared of seeing Victor's nightmares, not even close, because there was nothing I could see that would change our friendship. I was, however, scared of the way our relationship would change if he was afraid of me! Afraid to even try to hold my hand, even as his brothers embraced the changes in their powers I might, or might not hold the key to.

"I am." Victor's voice was barely a whisper, but I could hear the genuine fear in his tone. He was really, truly worried about this, and I didn't know how to show him that it wasn't something that he should torture himself about. Especially since we were currently trapped beneath the floor of an abandoned building awaiting rescue.

"I know," I said. Still with no clue how to proceed, I decided to go on instinct and follow my gut. Moving even closer, until my face was just inches from his, I lifted my hand slowly. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of both of us."

"Sang," Victor warned. "Don't!" I ignored him, even as he tried to pull away, and grabbed his collar, resisting his movements.

"Relax," I murmured. My hands moved, almost as if they had a mind of their own, until they hovered just a hairsbreadth from his face. His body shook, and the very tip of my left thumb brushed against his cheek. I bit back a gasp as a tiny spark rippled down to my elbow, and my eyes fluttered closed. A flash of something, a blurry face that looked vaguely familiar, swam into my mind, but I forced myself not to focus on it. I did not want Victor to be right. I could handle his powers; I had to.

"Sang." It was a warning this time, a gentle admonishment for my risk taking. I didn't care. I was following this through to its conclusion, for better or for worse.

"Shhh." Leaning up onto my tiptoes, I moved slowly and grasped his face with both hands, one on either side of his jaw. Tiny shocks pulsed through me along ten distinct conduits, each jolt trying and failing to force me to let go, and then I pulled his face firmly down to meet mine. I tilted his head to the side at the last minute and placed a barely-there kiss on his cheek. My lips brushed light stubble and warmth flooded my cheeks, but I almost didn't notice. A rapid stream of images—each one worse than the next—swam through my mind, each one blinding me before another swept in to take its place. Blood. Death. Evil. It was agony, people experiencing pure agony, and I couldn't stand it.

"No!" I gasped, pushing away before I could stop myself. The second I did so, and caught the flash of pain and resigned loss that passed over Victor features, I regretted it. I'd done what I promised myself I wouldn't do, and now I couldn't take it back. "I didn't," I stammered. "I mean, I… I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Sang." There was bitterness there, but mostly I just heard disappointment. What I'd just done could not be undone, and I was losing him. I could see his defences building, brick by brick before my eyes, and I wanted to turn back the clock, to take it all back. I couldn't lose him. I wouldn't!

"No, it's not." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and lunged forward. I didn't know if this would work—didn't even know what I was trying to do—but I just went for it. I seized hold of his face, fingers splayed out across his cheeks, and pulled him to me. My lips pressed against something soft, softer even than his cheek, and then I felt his warm breath tickle the tiny hairs on my tongue.

My eyes flew open, gaze locking onto the fire eyes that stared back at me. I froze, our lips pressed together so perfectly—so seamlessly—that I wondered if we had been cut from the same mould, and then it was him who was pushing me away. He severed our connection, but stayed close enough that I could almost feel the flutter of his long lashes against my cheek.

"You don't know what you're doing, Sang," he warned. "You'll regret this."

I hadn't meant to do that, to kiss him like that. I knew that. Hell, he probably knew that, but I knew now what I needed to do. What I wanted to do. I smiled, smoothing my fingers across his face, and then leant in again. My eyes fell closed, surety about my actions suddenly flooding my body with comfortable warmth. I liked him—and from the shakiness of his breath he wasn't completely opposed to me either—and I was done being little old me. I was done being afraid. We were alone, we were stranded in a dark basement with no obvious way out, and I knew how I felt.

A image flickered behind my lids, a splash of blood on a tiled floor. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, willing the image to go away. It wavered, momentarily shifting to show something far more disturbing, but I concentrated on the feel of Victor's arms around me and his lips on mine. I wouldn't let him be right about this. About us.

I yelped, staggering backwards as a crashing noise from above broke me from the moment. Victor moved, so fast that I wondered if he had a touch of Nathan's giftings, and then I was behind him, face pressed to his back. I peered around his arm, just in time to see a flash of light from the ceiling. The hatch!

"It's them," I started to say, starting to slip out from behind Victor. "They fou—"

"Quiet." Victor's voice was barely a hiss, but I heard him loud and clear. I didn't know what he saw, or sensed, but I was aware enough to heed his warning. Stay quiet. I could do that!

Another flash, brighter than the first, temporarily blinded me. I blinked, trying to clear the black spots that obscured my vision, but this time the light didn't shift or fade. A blinding beam of light caught both of us short, preventing us from seeing anything beyond the end of our noses. We moved as one then, Victor taking the lead and me following carefully. As we moved, I kept one hand pressed against the small of his back, reassuring myself that he was still there with me. The light moved with us, preventing us from seeing the person holding it.

"Who are you?" Victor asked. His voice sounded calm and confident, even as his hands shook. I gripped a handful of his shirt, trying to silently lend my support. "Hello?"

I blinked once, and the light was gone. I caught a fleeting glimpse of white, the edge of a cloak and what looked like a mask of some kind, and then it was gone. A memory poked its head into my mind but, before I could recall it, something metallic and shiny fell through the small square hole, hitting the sack-cloth pile with a soft thwomp.

For several long moments, nothing happened. Victor froze, a living statue laser-focused on the tiny square of light that framed the nestled object, and even the breeze seemed to die away to nothing. Then, so abruptly that I didn't even have time to scream, the air was ripped from my lungs and I was flying, Victor's arms vice-like around my waist.

And then the world exploded.


End file.
